53 Strangers and Our Happiness
This weekend, I went to two stadium events: a Giants game in San Francisco and the Ed Sheeran concert at Levi's Stadium.
Both drew huge crowds. Both generated incredible energy.
But there was one noticeable difference. At a concert, people usually leave happy. At a sporting event, the mood depends entirely on the outcome.
A few years ago, I was in India on a business trip when the 49ers played the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. A group of us woke up at 5 a.m. to watch the game in my boss's hotel room. Everyone wore red.
When the 49ers lost, the room went silent.
Nobody on that team knew we existed. None of us had any control over the game. Yet somehow, the loss felt personal, and the mood for the rest of the day turned dark and gray. 😅
Which makes me wonder:
Why do we become so emotionally invested in outcomes we can't control?
It's funny: we spend so much energy trying to control the things that matter, then willingly hand our emotions over to 53 people we've never met. 😅
Still thinking out loud—curious what you think.
