Choose Less, Get More
| So Many Choices…
We live in a world with an infinite amount of choices. There are so many options available to us for every aspect of life. When grocery shopping, you must decide between the organic farm raised gluten-free low-sodium chicken breasts and the lactose-free grass fed zero trans-fat chicken breast? Okay but seriously, there’s a bunch of stuff out there. Tinder for dating. Steam for video games. Netflix for movies. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the freedom of choice that’s offered to us. However, there’s a serious drawback tied with these choices. Too many choices make us unhappy.
| The Paradox of Choice
Barry Schwartz, psychology and author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, stated that increased consumer options is directly correlated to anxiety. This counter-intuitive theory supports the mental model that more is less.
Autonomy and Freedom of choice are critical to our well being, and choice is critical to freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, though modern Americans have more choice than any group of people ever has before, and thus, presumably, more freedom and autonomy, we don’t seem to be benefiting from it psychologically. — Barry Schwartz
| The Jam Experiment
Psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper designed an experiment involving consumer choice. A display was setup to display a variety of jams. At one instance, the display presented six flavors. The other, twenty-four. Anyone who came by the display was given a 1$ coupon off their purchase. Here’s what happened
| Twenty-Four Choice Display
- People who stopped by: 145
- People who purchased jam: 4
- Purchase percentage: 3%
| Choice Display
- People who stopped by: 104
- People who purchased jam: 31
- Purchase percentage: 30%
That’s 10X more purchases for less options.
| Choice Overload
The Jam Experiment provided an example of choice overload. Choice overload takes advantage of our tendency to be loss averse and over-optimize. How could you know that the jam you picked was the best one? Given a small sample size, you would feel more confident. As the sample size gets larger, so does your doubt.
Maybe I should’ve picked the other one.
Why didn’t I get that one.
Rather than worrying about whether or not you chose the best option, ` appreciate what you currently have.
| Simplify
The quick and easy way to beat choice overload is to simplify your life. Limit yourself.
Take the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Principle, for example. Basically, it states that twenty percent of inputs produce eighty percent of outputs.
- 80% of your happiness comes from 20% of your things
- 80% of your time is spent with 20% of your friends
Think about the most important people in your life and focus on them. Think about the most important possessions you have and get rid of the rest.
| Closing Thoughts
Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed with the modern worlds. Take a look at your life and think about what’s important. Choose that.
Follow me if you want. Have a good one!
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