Life moments and life stories: Understanding the experiencing and remembering selves

Which option would you prefer?

Which option would you prefer? A regular 3-star vacation A mind-blowing 5-star holiday, but you lose all memory of the experience after it ends Keep this question in mind for the rest of this series. The experiencing self and the remembering self are two different aspects of an individual. They were introduced by psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." The experiencing self refers to the part of you that directly experiences the present moment. All it cares about is what is happening right now. For the experiencing self, present pleasure is all that matters. To make it happy, you would choose the 5-star holiday even if you wouldn't remember anything afterward. From the experiencing self's point of view, life is just a series of moment-by-moment sensations. On the other hand, the remembering self is the part of you that reflects on life. It creates the narrative of your life story. For the remembering self, the overall life satisfaction for your life story is most important. To satisfy it, you would choose the 3-star vacation and create a meaningful narrative out of the experience. Perhaps you will think of how serene the beach was, comparing it with all the other places you have visited. From remembering self's point of view, living life moment by moment is meaningless if it does not produce the grand story your life deserves. Happiness for both selves matters. You will find that striking a balance between present pleasures and life satisfaction is vital to your well-being. Learning about the two selves can help us manage our well-being better.