[It] is a function of our expectations — or, as it has been said: “Happiness equals reality minus expectations.”
Given that neat formulation, there are two ways to attack the problem: boost our reality or lower our expectations.
Most of us choose the former. We’d rather stew in our misery than trim our expectations.
Lowering our sights smacks us as a cop out, un-American. Better a nation of morose overachievers, we reason, than a land of happy slackers. (via Lowered Expectations)