paradox of choice

This TED talk by Barry Schwartz reminded a lot of the other TED talk on choices I heard this week. He's funny, and although he comes across like an old grandfather who is afraid of the world changing, I do believe he's right about most of it.


The basic message is: the western world dogma of "Choice = happiness" is wrong, and in many cases "choice = increased expectation, wasted opportunity cost, and unhappiness."

It's good to have some choices, but being happy isn't linked to having lots of choices, or even making the right choices. It's a state of mind and you can have it (or not have it) whenever or wherever.

Here's something: Whenever I get a nice long break, I'm always excited about it. But unless I have something planned (in other words, limit my own choices), I end up not doing much, despite having unlimited options (paralysis).