I Was Really Hoping This Would Be the One

dan ariely, family, happiness, lessons learned, Teaching and Education 1 Minute

But once again, my hopes were dashed.

But I’m used to it. It’s happened dozens of times over the years.

But I was hoping this time would be different.

I’ve daydreamed about what it would be like, sometimes in quite a bit of detail.

My wife and I have talked about what we would do.

But all to no avail.

So much for manifestation.

Maybe someday I’ll win the Powerball lottery.

I guess last night just wasn’t my turn yet, nor anyone else’s apparently.

Which means I get to buy tickets again this week, since that seems to be a rational response.

If I thought it was a good idea to buy the tickets yesterday, and the jackpot has increased even more for the next drawing, then I’m sure Dan Ariely would tell me it’s the rational thing to do.

And if I lose again, then I can blame Dan.

In the meantime, it’s back to daydreaming…

*image from Lewis Kama

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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63 thoughts on “I Was Really Hoping This Would Be the One”

  4. I recently read a book about all of the people who squandered away their lottery winnings. One would think your life would be set, but many bought extravagant gifts made bad investments or gambled it away.

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      1. A huge amount! But we’re still saddled with its after effects: it bankrupted the Scottish government and means we’ve been bailing them out ever since, after the Act of Union 1707. There’s a lot on social media about whether they should stay or leave but, like most things on social media, it gets tedious after a while.

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      3. There’s a strong nationalist element which is pushing for independence despite losing a referendum on it some years ago, and is running a minority government there. The problem is compounded by Scotland having voted to remain in the EU, whereas the whole UK vote was to leave. They feel like they are losing their EU rights despite voting to keep them, and I have a lot of sympathy for that view. And yes, Edinburgh is a lovely city 😊

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      4. I feel bad for the people of Scotland, seems like they are caught in the middle. It seems like they were on the right side of the remaining in the EU issue; too bad it wasn’t brought up for a vote again in the UK…

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      5. That would mean another Scottish independence referendum, and the UK government is scared of the possibility of them voting to leave the UK. It’s complicated…

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      7. Even if we did I’m not sure the result would be different. It’s like people voting for Trump: they have copious evidence that it is stupid and bad for the country, but they will still vote for it/him. But there is so much self-interest of the rich and powerful invested in Brexit that we won’t get another vote anyway.

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  11. I like to pretend that I won a big lottery and squandered my winnings. People are either impressed or annoyed with how casual I am about my wasteful ways. But we all waste a great deal of our good fortune every day.

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  12. Right, Powerball is starting to get high enough to make it worthwhile. I’ve had this longtime dream that I would win the lottery and set up a foundation that pays people when they write a truly great blog post. I only need about 6% of that jackpot to retire the way I want to, so I’d have quite a bit to give away.

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  21. So, I wasn’t the only one hoping? I dreamed of all the good I could do, supporting children. I even thought about Paul Newman when he sat around his kitchen table deciding who would be a recipient of his money from his products. I would do that at my kitchen table. Hey, I still have a chance!

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