What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Seriously, though, are there practical benefits to counterfactual thinking? You discussed the emotional and social impacts, but is there a concrete reason why think about alternative possibilities? For example, it can help avoid making repeated mistakes.

A wise person once told me, “Someone’s always got it better, and someone’s always got it worse.” This saying came to mind as I read your attractive infographic; however, your less seems to be that it may be healthier to always focus on the fact that someone’s always got it worse, although you packaged the sentiment in a much more positive way! How automatic is the negative counterfactual thinking versus the positive counterfactual thinking? Do we have to train ourselves to think more so in one way than the other?