To Choose or Not to Choose?

I've been going through a bunch of the articles at the Authentic Happiness website as of late. Apparently this is my new kick. It's funny how I go from one "up and coming" to the next with very little lagtine inbetween.

Anyway, one of the articles really got my attention, not so much because I liked it but because I at first totally disagreed with what it was saying. The article is the transcript of a speech given by Barry Schwartz, the guy who wrote The Paradox of Choice, a book I've cited on this site once or twice. The article can be found here for your reading pleasure.

The Reader's Digest version of his theory is quite simple: we have way too many choices, and these extra choices, which we would assume would make us happier, in fact lead us to more disatisfaction with life. An example is the cereal aisle in the grocery store. How many tens if not hundreds of different choices of breakfast cereals are there? Imagine if you had never been given a favorite type as a kid, and now had to pick one. Would you be paralyzed by the thought that you had to get the "right" one, or the "best" one? In such a case, would the excess choice get in your way?

I agree with Dr. Schwartz completely on this one. In many cases, people (myself fully included) sweat the small stuff way too much. Who cares if you have the right brand of some food, or the exact right digital camera, or the perfect version of a blog post. The perfect is often the enemy of the good.

Dr. Schwartz and I, however, diverge slightly when he goes on to proscribe being either an "optimizer" and "satisficer." The former is someone who constantly strives for the best in everything, while the latter accepts something when it is finally "good enough." Schwartz says that satisficers are happier, and therefore by default are the best of the two types. I would have to disagree. Personally, I think that we should always strive beyond what is "good enough," with good enough just being a euphemism for mediocre. If all of the greats of society had settled for "good enough," we'd still be rubbing sticks together in our caves trying to start fires. This may bring displeasure in the short run, but the long term benefits and rewards are astonishing. I guess it's the brooding scientist archetype in me. :)

Looking back over the article, though, I think that my disagreement with Schwartz is more one of semantics than anything else. He does warn that we should pick and choose when we should be optimizers and satisficers. In that, I think when he tells us to be satisficers the majority of the time, he means that we have to learn how to limit our possibilites. It once again comes back to that lovely node metaphor. If you're standing at a node with a near infinite number of paths leading from it, if you ever want to get somewhere, you have to choose one, and only one, of the paths, take a step, and never look back. Schwartz even hits on the idea that a career or a spouse can lead to greater happiness because they can shut down a good portion of the paths, creating a much simpler space for choice-making. This really is an elegant idea.

I guess I just still imagine that somehow, a fully realized human being should be able to stand above the sea of nodes and ride it like a wave. Somehow, an enlightened one shouldn't have to settle for good enough, should always strive for the best with a blissful smile on her face. He should be able to be, well, superhuman.

And I guess that's where my theory of choice fails miserably. Humans are capable of amazing things, but they nevertheless are human. It's the perfectionist shadow in me shining out. He's a pesky little devil, but much easier to see when I let contractions about my beliefs regarding choice and "perfection" to relax.

The great thing about all of this is that this theory is quite applicable to life. Trying to decide which car to buy? Do a good bit of research, and then give yourself 10 minutes to come up with your choice and stick to it. Planning your "future" (as if any of us could actually plan out our future with all the kinks that He throws in our way)? Look at your options, give yourself a set amount of time, make a choice, and stick with it, with hope and without regret. Then spend all the time you might otherwise spend sweating the small stuff enjoying that new car, or pursuing that new career, or talking to a loved one. Life is in the details, but the details can often suck the life out of living.

I suppose living freely sometimes means giving up freedom. And that is the paradox of choice.

Namaste