Shankar Vedantam explains the effort heuristic: we value things more when they cost us time, energy, or discomfort. A club with a tough initiation feels more meaningful than one that admits anyone. Choosing the easy path maximizes comfort but erodes meaning.
Imagine 2 groups of people joining the same club. The first group gets in easily. They fill out a form, show up on day one, they're members. The second group has to earn it. Weeks of early mornings, tough challenges, public embarrassment. Which group do you think ends up valuing their membership more? It's the group that suffered to get in. Every time. It's just like how a hike to a summit feels more meaningful than driving to the same view. Or how a meal you spend hours cooking tastes better than one that you ordered in 5 minutes. Researchers call this the effort heuristic. When something costs us more time, energy, or discomfort, our brains interpret that cost as a signal of worth. So if you always choose the path of least resistance, you might be optimizing for comfort at the expense of meaning. The things you'll value most are usually the things that were hardest to earn. For more insights about the science of the mind, tune into Hidden Brain on Apple, Spotify, or hiddenbrain.org.
