The Choice Explosion
David Brooks has seemingly turned into the New York Times self-help guru, diving into subjects of self-improvement through the lens of historical example, science, and philosophy. He’s not all that bad at it, either.
Here he discusses the unprecedented rise in choices we now have within reach. Working off the Heath brothers’ book Decisive, Brooks articulates the issues, and subsequently provides some insights for rising above said issues.
Surprised he didn’t mention Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice here, which is still one of simplest yet best ideas the psychology department has provided us since, well — dare I say — since William James and the rise of Pragmatism. (The paradox: more choices makes us less happy.)
Kahneman, Ariely, and Sunstein get deserved acknowledgement here, all key contributors to this space of understanding ourselves with regards to biases, irrationalities, and context-specific, environment-influenced human behavior.
The Choice Explosion is especially pernicious for the poor, who become confined by the stresses and perceived/actual limitations of their lives. “It’s hard to maintain a feeling of agency when you see no chance of opportunity.”
Brief article all in all. Some key takeaways below…
Americans now have more choices over more things than any other culture in human history. We can choose between a broader array of foods, media sources, lifestyles and identities. We have more freedom to live out our own sexual identities and more religious and nonreligious options to express our spiritual natures.
…The maxim: assume positive intent. When in the midst of some conflict, start with the belief that others are well intentioned. It makes it easier to absorb information from people you’d rather not listen to.
Suzy Welch’s 10–10–10 rule. When you’re about to make a decision, ask yourself how you will feel about it 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now and 10 years from now. People are overly biased by the immediate pain of some choice, but they can put the short-term pain in long-term perspective by asking these questions.
The Heaths recommend making deliberate mistakes. A survey of new brides found that 20 percent were not initially attracted to the man they ended up marrying. Sometimes it’s useful to make a deliberate “mistake” — agreeing to dinner with a guy who is not your normal type. Sometimes you don’t really know what you want and the filters you apply are hurting you.
Whenever you find yourself asking “whether or not,” it’s best to step back and ask, “How can I widen my options?”
