Choices, Choices, Choices

Here are some notes that I find beneficial to my spiritual/psychological growth from the book, "The Paradox of Choice What to Do About Choice: Why More is Less" by: Barry Schwartz

CHOOSE WHEN TO CHOOSE
• Reduce the number of options to consider before making a decision
• Focus on limited areas

BE A CHOOSER, NOT A PICKER
• Choosers reflect on what makes a decision important, whether even none of the options should be chosen, or a new option created, and the expressive value of a choice; pickers are passive selectors from what is available
• Shorten or eliminate fuss about unimportant decisions, use freed up time to reflect on what you want, think about what options would need to be created

SATISFICE MORE AND MAXIMIZE LESS
• Accept "good enough"

THINK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• Don't worry so much about "missing out"

MAKE YOUR DECISIONS NON-REVERSIBLE
• I’m simply not going there, I’ve made my decision so this option has nothing to do with me. I’m out of the market, so end of story
• You can pour your energy instead into improving the relationship, rather than second-guessing it

PRACTICE AN "ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE"
• The same experience can have delightful and disappointing aspects and its up to us what we focus on
• Before going to bed, write 5 things you are grateful for that happened that day

REGRET LESS
• Practice gratitude for what is good in a decision rather than focusing on bad
• Life is complex. It is rare that any single decision has the life transforming power we sometimes think.

ANTICIPATE ADAPTATION
• Develop realistic expectations about how experiences change with time and how we satisfied with only higher levels of experience over time
• Spend less time and energy researching and agonizing over decisions
• Spend less time looking for the perfect thing (maximizing), so that you won't have huge search cots to be "amortized" against the satisfaction you derive from what you actually choose.

CONTROL EXPECTATIONS
• Reduce the number of options you consider
• Be a satisficer rather than a maximizer
• Allow for serendipity

CURTAIL SOCIAL COMPARISON
• Learning that good enough is good enough will automatically reduce social comparison
• Focus on what makes you happy and what gives meaning to your life

LEARN TO LOVE CONSTRAINTS
• They can be liberating this choice overload context
• Following rules can free up time/energy for situations where rules don’t work