You don't always want to take the fastest route. Sometimes the slower route might help you feel as if you are moving faster. That slower route may help you arrive at your destination with a more refreshed feeling. No, we're not referring to the Doppler (confirm) effect. We're considering a real effect.

For example, the shorter route may bring your car through a long traffic jam. You will suffer as you travel through several miles or kilometers of stop-and-go traffic. The actual ride may not be lengthy, but you will feel exhausted by the time you arrive.

On the other hand, you might take a detour around the trouble spot. Your odometer will show that you have traveled much more. It may take you longer to arrive at your destination using this road, but you will be more refreshed. You will not have the anxiety and pressure of traveling through an annoying stretch of road.

Thus, the amount of time that you travel may be less important than your feelings or the subjective time that you travel.

That is why you chose to take the detour. You spent a longer amount of time and you traveled more, but you did not want to suffer the burden of the start and stop traffic.

This issue affects many other objective concepts. Any factual issue can be measured, but your feelings may determine your actual behavior.

Which way is better or more important for you? You may have to decide whether you want to arrive sooner or whether you want to arrive with a refreshed feeling. You may not be able to have both.