The IKEA Effect
Welcome to #71 of Mindfully, a newsletter where we explore self-growth mindfully. I hope you’re having an awesome day!
Hello friends,
I recently read about The IKEA Effect after a tweet I came across and I have to share it with you. It explains a lot about how we feel about what we do.
Essentially, The IKEA Effect has found that generally we are much more likely to be proud and think more highly of a project or product if we've worked on it ourselves (rather than delegating, supervising, or outsourcing). In other words, it's just like building flat-pack furniture from Ikea and feeling proud for the rest of the day.
This made me think about tasks I've done myself and those that I've delegated to team members at work or outsourced. I've always felt a higher sense of satisfaction and self-worth when I've done the task myself. Recently, I thought very hard about outsourcing editing for my YouTube channel and the idea of hiring an editor. In the end, this was a definite no for me. I get my sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from YouTube by channelling my creative energy into my videos. For me, I could never feel as satisfied if someone else had edited my videos (for now, at least).
Similarly, I've had people approach me asking me if they could write my newsletters and create content for me. For me, this would destroy the fun in making content. It has to be me, it has to be my work.
So before we think about removing ourselves from the process and considering outsourcing/delegating, think twice. It could be the difference between feeling satisfied and feeling meh about what we do.
You can read more about The IKEA Effect here.
Announcement:
You may have noticed that I've recently moved to a new platform (Revue) to host my newsletter, this has meant that some emails are going to junk folders. If this applies to you please check your junk folder and either remove me from the junk or add this email as a contact. Secondly, you may have noticed me trying to brand this newsletter more. I think I've settled on a name now, here on after this newsletter will be called: Mindfully.
Quote:
"This is one of the great paradoxes of happiness: we have to call off the search to be able to find everything we've been searching for. The narrative that I had chosen to believe that I was missing something - was the thing causing my unhappiness."
- Happy Sexy Millionaire (Steven Bartlett)
Recommendation:
Website 👨🏾💻 - London In Coffee
If you love coffee and live in London or intend on visiting, then you should definitely check out this lit website I recently discovered. They've put together a list of aesthetic independent cafes in London for that artisan coffee and productive vibes. You're Welcome!
YouTube:
That’s all for this week - be safe, be happy!
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