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When an experience goes wrong it can be just as worthwhile as when all goes right

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  1. Positive reinterpretation. When we buy an unsatisfactory material product, we tend just to feel pissed off. When an experience goes wrong, it can often be as worthwhile as when it goes right. Think of that time that you journeyed to the beach for a nice day of swimming, but forgot your bathers. You mustered the courage to swim in your underwear, and then did mad Olympic sprints between the ocean and your towel in the hope that no one would notice what you were wearing. The friend who came with you laughed at you all day long, you laughed when you related the story to people that evening, they laughed to hear about it, and you felt a little bit braver to boot. This effect can be found even with experiences that were quite gruelling at the time, as was noted by Seneca (the ancient Roman philosopher) when he said, “Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.”