Yesterday I wrote about TED.
Today I want to comment on the particular video that took me to TED. It is a video about choices and the problems of “too many choices”.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central belief of western societies: that freedom of choice leads to personal happiness. In Schwartz’s estimation, all that choice is making us miserable. We set unreasonably high expectations, question our choices before we even make them, and blame our failures entirely on ourselves. His relatable examples, from consumer products (jeans, TVs, salad dressings) to lifestyle choices (where to live, what job to take, whom and when to marry), underscore this central point: Too many choices undermine happiness.
In his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tackles one of the great mysteries of modern life: Why is it that societies of great abundance — where individuals are offered more freedom and choice (personal, professional, material) than ever before — are now witnessing a near-epidemic of depression? Conventional wisdom tells us that greater choice is for the greater good, but Schwartz argues the opposite: He makes a compelling case that the abundance of choice in today’s western world is actually making us miserable.
Infinite choice is paralyzing, Schwartz argues, and exhausting to the human psyche. It leads us to set unreasonably high expectations, question our choices before we even make them and blame our failures entirely on ourselves. His relatable examples, from consumer products (jeans, TVs, salad dressings) to lifestyle choices (where to live, what job to take, who and when to marry), underscore this central point: Too much choice undermines happiness.
How about you? Have you ever struggled with too many choices?
Too many different brands of chips?
Too many different investment choices?
Too many possibilities for soul mates?
Well, I’m not sure about the soul mate question. I know a few women who want to know where all the good men have gone. But maybe in other parts of our lives.
TED: The Barry Schwartz Video
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/93
TED: About Barry Schwartz
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/91
