“Impossible to stop just now. Why, if I could only prove one simple little lemma”

By presenting real stories of frustrations, failures, and successes—Andrew Wiles’ proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, Keith Jarrett’s unforgettable 1975 Köln performance, and Thomas Edison’s struggles with the incandescent light bulb, among others—the chapter further investigates the value and importance of frustration. Whereas Chapter 6 was concerned with articulating the motivational value of frustration, this chapter demonstrates the capacity of frustration to structure our lives and to endow them with significance and personal meaning. Specifically, the chapter describes how what we experience as frustrating, difficult, and effortful can often become valuable precisely because it is frustrating, difficult, and effortful to us. The chapter thus makes clear that the experience of frustration can lead to the generation of value and argues that a life devoid of frustrations runs the risk of becoming meaningless.

“Confined in an invisible bubble that prevents contact with the world”

Drawing upon examples from art, psychology, literature, and philosophy, the chapter offers an introduction to boredom, one that is attentive both to its rich history and to how it is currently understood and studied. The chapter articulates the reasons why boredom has been widely understood to be either trivial or inconsequential. It then counters such a simplistic understanding of boredom by drawing a distinction between two types of boredom and by illuminating the ways in which both kinds of boredom can have serious consequences for one’s well-being. Even though a negative and potentially harmful side of boredom exists and ought to be taken seriously, the chapter concludes by suggesting that there is another, far more positive and beneficial side to boredom that has been largely ignored.

“The secret to happiness may be unhappiness”

The chapter explores the nature of the good life, articulates the role that happiness, pleasure, and positive emotions play in such a life, and considers the effects of emotional adaptation and emotional diversity on our well-being. By drawing upon both philosophical literature and research in social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, it argues for a broad conception of the good life, one that does not identify the good life simply with the presence of positive experiences and the absence of negative ones. The chapter shows not only that negative experiences aren’t detrimental to our well-being, but that they are often necessary to achieve it.

“Our possible existence is always greater than our destiny”

The chapter draws upon sources from neuroscience, psychology, literature, and philosophy to make a detailed and sustained case for the indelible role that anticipation plays in our lives. By discussing topics such as predictive coding, the nature of memory, the effects of anticipatory and anticipated emotions on behavior, and existentialist views on human existence, the chapter shows the extent to which anticipation rules our lives. Our brains constantly anticipate future outcomes by generating predictions; our memories are formed with a future in mind; and our lives are greatly influenced both by the emotions that we expect to feel and the ideals that we cultivate and which inspire us to become who we want to be. By demonstrating the prevalence and significance of anticipation, the chapter makes evident that no examination of the good life can ignore it.

“An energizer, but not a guide; an engine, but not a steering gear”

The chapter synthesizes findings from the last eighty years of research on the psychology and neuroscience of frustration. It argues that although frustration is aversive and often a sign of an unfilled or obstructed goal, it is extremely energizing. The chapter describes numerous experiments and cases that demonstrate how frustration can invigorate our responses to perceived difficulties and how it can provide us with the psychological resources needed to keep pursuing our goals. Frustration, the chapter shows, is not an indication of failure. Rather, it is an opportunity to be empowered by a temporary obstruction to our goals and as such, a valuable psychological mechanism capable of springing us into action and of propelling us toward the completion of personally important goals.

“And you, what do you think of optimism?”

The chapter illustrates the benefits (and in some cases, the dangers) of anticipation in the pursuit of the good life. It discusses how anticipation figures in decision-making, savoring, and optimism. It shows how anticipation can often boost our levels of subjective well-being and explains why anticipation is linked to numerous positive health outcomes. Anticipation also helps us to overcome life obstacles and remain resilient in the face of difficult challenges. Thus, anticipation is a crucial ingredient of the good life. In addition to its ability to prolong and amplify positive experiences, anticipation is a motivating mechanism that provides us with the emotional energy we need to pursue what we believe is significant and important.

“What do you think it’s like being dead?”

The chapter investigates the psychology of the perception of the passage of time and its implications for the good life. Through descriptions of the lives of individuals whose experience of the passage of time has been altered and by considering findings on how emotions affect our perception of time, the chapter argues that the manner in which we experience the passage of time has important consequences for our well-being. The chapter focuses on and articulates the experience of being stuck in the present and shows how such an experience is indicative of the presence of situations that are incongruent to our wishes and goals. Being stuck in the present is thus a sign that we are failing to do what truly matters to us. Because of that, the chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding when and why we become stuck in the present.

“I hear you clearly, yet your voice sounds far away—distant and unreal”

What are emotions? What do they do to us, and in what ways do they contribute to our lives? By discussing real-life examples of individuals either who have lost the ability to experience certain emotions or who have an attenuated capacity to experience or recognize emotions, the chapter offers an accessible presentation into the character and function of human emotions. Three main claims about emotions are presented and defended. First, emotions are powerful and transformative: they change our world and ourselves. Second, emotions reveal to us what matters to us and what does not. Third, emotions do not just allow us to experience the world and others, but they also help us to navigate it. Ultimately, the chapter argues that people need emotions—not just to survive, but to live well and successfully.

“Immobile paradises promise us nothing”

The final chapter of the book discusses how boredom, frustration, and anticipation constitute elements of the good life by relating those states to influential views about how we regulate our behavior. A recent lesson from the psychology of self-regulation is that we are better adjusted and more successful in achieving our goals if we are able to move from state to state. The chapter shows how boredom, frustration, and anticipation are states that ensure that we keep moving and that we do not linger too much in situations that do not meet our expectations and desires. The good life is not something that happens to us; it is something that we actively bring about. Boredom, frustration, and anticipation can help us achieve the good life by moving us out of an unsatisfactory present and into a better future.

“Like water after days in the desert”

By presenting empirical findings on the character of boredom and its relationship to self-regulation, the chapter advances a theoretical account of the emotional state of boredom that highlights its significance for our everyday lives. It argues that the experience of boredom is of great value to us. Not only does boredom inform us of the presence of an unsatisfactory situation, it also motivates us to pursue new goals and situations when our current goals and situations cease to be satisfactory, attractive, or meaningful to us. The chapter shows how boredom can help us discover and engage with activities that are congruent to our projects. Boredom, the chapter concludes, ought to be understood as a regulatory state capable of promoting activities that are in line with our wishes and values.