The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home

by Dan Ariely

Delaying annoying tasks is a nearly universal problem

given the mismatch between the speed of technological development and human evolution, the same instincts and abilities that once helped us now often stand in our way.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.

If companies really want their workers to produce, they should try to impart a sense of meaning—not just through vision statements but by allowing employees to feel a sense of completion and ensuring that a job well done is acknowledged.

the delicate balance between the desire to feel pride of ownership and the wish to not spend too much time

even if you feel strongly about something in the short term, in the long term things will probably not leave you as ecstatic or as miserable as you expect.

once we choose to act on our emotions, we make short-term DECISIONS that can change our long-term ones:

before committing to any long-term relationship you should first explore your joint behavior in environments that don’t have well-defined social protocols