Your life gets better when you expect less out of it.

Life satisfaction can be broken down into a simple formula.

Life Satisfaction = (Perception) - (Expectation)

Let me explain.

Think of Life Satisfaction as a scale from -10 to 10. -10 being you are miserable. 10 being you couldn’t feel any better.

Let’s say you are expecting your significant other to purchase a nice gift for you on your birthday (expectation), but when you open the present, it’s a rock. You absolutely hate it (perception).

Putting imaginary numbers into the formula, we get:

Life Satisfaction = 2 – 8 = -6.

Any negative score is considered bad to your life satisfaction.

But let’s consider this turn of events. After you had a chance to hide your disappointment, your significant other explains, I picked up this rock 15 years ago, on the first day we met because I knew that it would someday be sentimental.

Suddenly, your formula changes:

Life Satisfaction = 10 – 8 = 2.

Voila, you are back to being on the satisfied side of the scale.

It gets better. What if you didn’t expect a birthday gift at all?

Life Satisfaction = 10 – 0 = 10.

You couldn’t be happier.

Here’s what you need to know:

The more you expect, the more likely you will be disappointed. The less you expect, the more satisfied you will be when good things come your way.