#31 - How to Have the Best Year of Your Life

Hidden in memories

I was lucky enough to be in Paris last week for the Olympics.

The atmosphere and energy were beautiful, and the French athletes are seemingly rising to the occasion. At the time of writing, Team France sits 3rd in the medal table, and the entire country is uniting behind athletes, including Leon Marchand and Teddy Riner.

To mark the power of the Olympics, I decided to repost a previous piece which uses the 2012 Olympics in London as an example of how important memories are for a happy life.

Enjoy! ❤️✌🏻

Saturday 4th August 2012. 

The eyes of the world were on the Olympic Stadium in London. 

Something happened that afternoon that will never be forgotten by the 80,000 fans lucky enough to be there. 

In a remarkable 44 minutes, three athletes representing Team GB won gold in their respective events. Jessica Ennis-Hill in the triathlon, Greg Rutherford in the long jump, and Mo Farah in the 10,000m. 

That day is immortalised as "Super Saturday", the greatest day in British Olympic history.   

But that day was just the cherry on top of the summer of 2012. 

If you're British or lived in Britain at the time, I'm sure you'll remember London 2012 well.

As well as the incredible sporting spectacle, the games - particularly the closing ceremony - highlighted everything that put the 'great' into Great Britain. 

London put on an event like no other, and the nation was brimming with pride.

But it wasn't just the Olympics that made 2012 so memorable. 

Sticking with sport, some significant British achievements came that year, including Andy Murray and Rory McIlroy winning majors in their respective sports, Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, and Chelsea winning the Champions League.

The country also came together to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, with parties and events held up and down the country and double bank holidays adding to the nation's mood.

And there was more. In July, London got another symbol of its dynamism and exciting future as The Shard opened, becoming the tallest building in Europe. Last but not least, James Bond returned with a bang with Skyfall, the highest-grossing and one of the most noteworthy Bond films ever (not to mention that theme song). 

All of this meant 2012 was voted by the British public as the best year of the decade, with an overwhelming majority. 

A separate poll even suggested that 2012 was the greatest year EVER in British history, beating 1945 and VE day in 2nd place. 

I don't think anyone looking back could argue that 2012 was an incredible year for Britain. That's certainly how I remember it.

But away from the events, parties, and film premieres - the headlines from 2012 tell a different story.

In an annual review of the economy, the Independent said, "Some years are best forgotten. And, for the British economy, 2012 is one of them."

The UK experienced its first double-dip recession since the 1970s. The boost provided by the Olympics wasn't enough to prevent the UK's national income from falling from the start of the year to the end. 

Economic growth was low and falling. Output numbers were terrible, and we didn't see comparable figures again until 2019. The government employed quantitative easing to boost the economy and help with the cost of living. Before the Olympic games, there was evident concern about how affordable or necessary they were and whether the UK economy had the capacity to host.

Then there was the weather. 2012 was England's wettest year on record, even though the start of the year was drier than usual. It was an exceptionally wet summer, with June seeing 203% of the average monthly rainfall expected. 

The rain in 2012 was more than just an inconvenience. Record rainfall led to widespread flooding, killing 9 people, ruining crops and costing the country billions. 2012 was the year that the weather in the UK turned dangerous.  

Alongside this, England lost a penalty shoot-out, and London afforded Boris Johnson additional credibility by re-electing him as London's mayor.

Objectively, away from the fanfare and events, 2012 seems to have been a pretty crap year. 

So, what?

Is it the case that because of the underlying issues the UK faced, the public was wrong to have voted 2012 the greatest year? Or were they right, and it is the case that events and memories are what make a year great?

As an experiment, ask yourself what has been the best year of your life so far.

I'd imagine there's a strong chance that the first answer that comes to mind would also be the answer to the question, "What is the most memorable year of your life?" That is undoubtedly true for me.

Good memories, particularly novel ones, have a halo effect that gives everything around them a positive framing when looking back. These events dominate memory over how you felt and lived day-to-day at the time.

Memories matter. According to Meik Wiking (author of The Art of Making Memories), happy memories are essential to mental health. They strengthen our sense of identity and purpose and bond our relationships. Happy memories are a crucial ingredient for present happiness.

When asked to choose Britain's greatest year, fond memories of all that happened spring to mind. 2012 then became the obvious choice, with recollections overwhelmingly positive.

Make Memories.

This is a simple life rule, and re-framing the significance of memorable events and new, exciting experiences as necessary for long-term happiness is an important consideration and rule that governs how we live life.

On objective measures, 2012 wasn't the most favourable year for Britain. But no one can deny it was the most memorable, and perhaps that is what matters. 

Right now, 2024 seems to be a year that most of us will look back on with a negative frame. But given everything going on in the world, from the cost of living to nerve-wracking elections and the negative stories that we see on the news every day, there are, of course, those who will look back at 2024 as the best year of their lives.

Those getting married, exploring the world, or trying things for the first time won't remember 2024 as the year of global uncertainty, scary weather, Donald Trump being re-elected, or any of the other shit the news shows every night.

They'll remember those positive experiences and memories, and in 10 years, those will make 2024 what it was. 

This can be true for all of us.

So I leave you with this: turn off the news, put down your phone and make some plans. Then, get out there and make some memories. 

In time, they're all that matter.