For several weeks now, I've been in terrific spirits. It's not that I was depressed before that — I've generally been feeling fine — but I'm talking about another level here, something akin to elation.
There are some external explanations for how I'm feeling, but on reflection, I don't think it's fundamentally about what's going on outside me so much as inside.
Instead, it's about a very small, purposeful shift I've made — what the professors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein call a "nudge" in their book of the same title. It's too early to know if the effect will last — and I certainly won't stay in this mood forever — but the deceptively simple notion is that small choices we make can deliver big consequences.
My shift began in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. We lost power in our home for 11 days, during which I slept in five different beds at five different locations. At times, I felt deeply upended. But something else also happened.
Along the way, I learned a powerful lesson about taking anything for granted — even having a warm place to sleep.
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