Counterfactual thinking at the Olympics

Come every Olympics, there are sure to be studies and comments about counterfactual thinking. What's counterfactual thinking? Let me add my say.

Wikipedia describes the term as "a concept in psychology that involves the human tendency to create possible alternatives to life events that have already occurred; something that is contrary to what actually happened. Counterfactual thinking is, as it states: 'counter to the facts'. These thoughts consist of the What if? and the If I had only... that occur when thinking of how things could have turned out differently. Counterfactual thoughts include things that – in the present – now could never happen in reality because they solely pertain to events that have occurred in the past."

Geddit? Yes? No?

Well, never mind. Let's put it in another way. In 1892, an American psychologist, William James, wrote in his book, Psychology, that "we have the paradox of a man shamed to death because he is only the second pugilist or the second oarsman in the world. That he is able to beat the whole population of the globe minus one is nothing; he has 'pitted' himself to beat that one; and as long as he doesn't do that nothing else counts."

Geddit? Yes? No?

Never mind again. Here is a far simpler way of explaining counterfactual thinking in practical terms, courtesy of a whatsapp message floating around from one mobile to another. But of course, I've rewritten it slightly and corrected its horrendous grammar:

Have you noticed that a Bronze medallist is generally happier than a Silver medallist at the end of a game? It’s not an incidental finding but a proven fact in many research studies after studying reactions of silver medallists versus bronze medallists! 

Ideally, a silver medallist should be happier than the bronze. But the human mind doesn't work like mathematics. This happens because of a phenomenon called the counterfactual thinking.

The silver medalist thinks resignedly, "Oh I tried my best but I couldn't win the gold medal." However, the bronze medallist sees it differently. He thinks positively, "At least I got a medal." A silver medal is won after losing, but a bronze medal is won after winning. Same for a track event. The bronze medallist says, "At least, I've proven that I can still win that last medal." To the runners-up, it's "I couldn't beat the champion and this is my only consolation."

This happens even in our life. We don't appreciate what we have but feel sad with what we don't have. Let's be grateful for our blessings, they far outweigh our problems if we start counting. Life is after all full of choices. Do always count your blessings to stay positive and motivated.