A fascinating study done by Professor Vicki Medvec reveals the relative importance of subjective attitudes over and above objective circumstances. Medvec studied Olympic medalists and discovered that bronze medalists were quantifiably happier than silver medalists. Here's why: Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold, so they weren't satisfied with silver; broze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all, so they were just as happy to be on the medal stand.

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, be sure to visit the Hot Topics section of the Preaching Today site. We searched our databases for all the illustrations, sermons, audio sermons, videos, and images that will serve you well over the course of this major cultural event.