I began to read Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less when I heard about it from a friend. He loved it so much he couldn’t stop talking about it.
The first chapters of the book are quite entertaining with examples and tests, but the author begins to repeat himself after a while. Even though it’s quite annoying, I still finished it. After thinking for a while, I’m glad I did. Sometimes we need to repeat things to understand.
We live in abundance, but is that a good thing? If you think a lot while shopping, reviewing a product or deciding about anything, you should read this book. I am not familiar with the problems in the book as a person who does not enjoy shopping. And when I have to shop, I make quick decisions and not affected by external factors. However, there are many people I know who have experienced these problems every day, and it was enjoyable to understand what processes they went through. I didn’t understand the people who wasted their time shopping for clothes and wasted their days. After reading the Paradox of Abundance, however, I can look at them with more empathy.
But of course, this is an empathy mixed with a little pity. If your happiness depends on things, shopping and what people think, it is useful to read this book. And it can be enjoyable if you are interested in the subject. Abundance has become a situation that can lead to unhappiness in our lives. We have to get away from this paradox as soon as possible. Read this book if you want to think about abundance. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
The Paradox of Choice
Whether we’re buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions both big and small have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice the hallmark of individual freedom. And self-determination that we so cherish becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice. From the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.
By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case. That eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number. Have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest. And so ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make
Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz is an American psychologist. Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and so Social Action at Swarthmore College. He frequently publishes editorials in The New York Times so applying his research in psychology to current events.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
