rotmanmagazine.ca / 137a community of people who appreciate the same things you
do. However, it becomes a problem when it goes to extreme
levels. For example, if you spend all day long on a PlaySta-
tion and are completely engrossed in the gaming communi-
ty, clearly, that is a problem. But letting any particular brand
take over too much of your life is a problem, because brands
are inherently self-interested. At the end of the day, they
just want your money. They are not equipped to provide all
of the intellectual and social supports that non-commercial
domains, such as religion, can provide.
You have also studied how visualization can help us be
more optimistic. Please explain why this is important.
It turns out that in virtually every domain of life, optimism is
a real asset. For instance, it can really help a person to work
through a health or career setback. The second interest-
ing thing about optimism is that it is not a fixed personality
trait: We are not inherently optimistic or pessimistic — we
can change the level of our optimism or pessimism, and it’s
something we can manage.
So, if optimism has positive outcomes and if it is some-
thing that we can control and manage, the question is, how
do you do that?
Lots of studies show the power of visualization exercis-
es. The idea is very simple: you think about some point in the
future — not too near, but not too far, either — maybe five or
ten years down the road; and you visualize a very specific set
of positive circumstances that you would like to find yourself
in. Spend some time single-mindedly thinking about what
that future will look like. This is much easier than meditat-
ing, because you are almost daydreaming in a very struc-
tured way as opposed to focusing hard on a single concept.
Research indicates that, for those who do visualiza-
tion exercises consistently, there are some really significant
benefits. If you are suffering from chronic pain, for example,
Utpal Dholakia is the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at Rice
University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. You can read his
blog, The Science Behind Behaviour, at psychologytoday.comyour pain level will likely diminish; and it can increase your
overall subjective well-being and make you a happier per-
son. In short, visualization is an easy way to increase your
happiness, and it doesn’t cost a thing.Brands have begun to take over the empty space in
people’s lives—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.