Recently, a study revealed that knowing the ending of a book makes it more enjoyable to read. Sounds a little surprising, right?
The researchers, Nicholas Christenfeld, a University of California, San Diego professor, and Jonathan Leavitt, a PhD candidate at UC San Diego studying psychology, tested readers to determine if “spoilers” really spoiled anything. And apparently, knowing the ending actually makes the story better.
According to Christenfeld:
Plots are just excuses for great writing. What the plot is is (almost) irrelevant. The pleasure is in the writing.
The researchers further concluded that part of the reason this may be the case is because readers can enjoy the actual story when they know the ending rather than waiting impatiently to find out what’s going to happen.
To me, this sounds like another way of saying, “The joy of life is in the journey, not the destination.”
Of course, since knowing the destination makes the journey even better, I thought I’d spoil something for you.
You will succeed.
You will matter.
You will do great things, big and small.
Your destination will be right, wherever it may be.
Consider that part taken care of.
Now you can get back to enjoying the story.