In the spirit of Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock , a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. This paperback includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested readings, and more. Whether we’re buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, ap...
In the spirit of Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock , a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. This paperback includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested readings, and more. 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.
We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.
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 counterintuitive 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 the important ones and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College. He is the author of several books, including Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing, with Kenneth Sharpe, and Why We Work. His articles have appeared in many of the leading journals in his field, including American Psychologist.
We would be better off if we embraced certain voluntary constrains on freedom of choices, instead of rebelling against them.
We would be better off seeking after "good enough" instead of seeking after the best.
We would be better off if we lowered our expectations about the results of decisions.
We would be better off if the decisions we made were nonreversible.
We would be better off if we paid less attention to what others around us were doing. (查看原文)
看到这本书之前的时候,我的notes里就写着“大部分人不理解“选择”的陷阱。我们人生花了很多时间去feel like we have tons options,但是其实又要curator去帮助我们做选择,又要花钱。真的没意义。
Career选择也是,最大的复利,是你选择一个东西,然后长期深根,而且也是你越good at,越喜欢。
然后就到了人的选择也是,你和人相处的时间和经历,是越去帮助你抵挡很多...看到这本书之前的时候,我的notes里就写着“大部分人不理解“选择”的陷阱。我们人生花了很多时间去feel like we have tons options,但是其实又要curator去帮助我们做选择,又要花钱。真的没意义。
Career选择也是,最大的复利,是你选择一个东西,然后长期深根,而且也是你越good at,越喜欢。
然后就到了人的选择也是,你和人相处的时间和经历,是越去帮助你抵挡很多风雨的,这个不是other things could do的,因为就是你们之间的经历。
消费观也是,希望买长线、真的喜欢的东西。其他都不要,maintainence cost。” 真是不谋而合!(展开)
I used to be an extremist, I used not to ruminate the options I passed up, I used to reject to imagine how the alternative would have turned out and regret what I chose. But, something happened, and I was changed, and a real world paled in comparison to an ...
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0 有用 笑一步是好青年 2012-07-08 21:48:35
麻痹,从02/07开始标注在读 一直到现在。我太没效率了。
0 有用 方舟K][NGofARK 2012-10-05 16:20:45
观点有力,论据充分,不过实在是太啰嗦了。
0 有用 粉红色大象 2012-08-20 05:22:26
We get so worried about making the wrong decision so we make no decisions at all. Good book, points well made, a little repetitive though.
0 有用 于小恙 2013-02-06 21:16:44
simplicity
0 有用 雯儿 2013-11-24 04:56:43
heard of the examples in the books before reading, maybe more IS actually less..
0 有用 snowwill 2023-01-06 22:54:16 浙江
看到这本书之前的时候,我的notes里就写着“大部分人不理解“选择”的陷阱。我们人生花了很多时间去feel like we have tons options,但是其实又要curator去帮助我们做选择,又要花钱。真的没意义。 Career选择也是,最大的复利,是你选择一个东西,然后长期深根,而且也是你越good at,越喜欢。 然后就到了人的选择也是,你和人相处的时间和经历,是越去帮助你抵挡很多... 看到这本书之前的时候,我的notes里就写着“大部分人不理解“选择”的陷阱。我们人生花了很多时间去feel like we have tons options,但是其实又要curator去帮助我们做选择,又要花钱。真的没意义。 Career选择也是,最大的复利,是你选择一个东西,然后长期深根,而且也是你越good at,越喜欢。 然后就到了人的选择也是,你和人相处的时间和经历,是越去帮助你抵挡很多风雨的,这个不是other things could do的,因为就是你们之间的经历。 消费观也是,希望买长线、真的喜欢的东西。其他都不要,maintainence cost。” 真是不谋而合! (展开)
0 有用 Flora 2022-03-23 12:07:00
直觉上挺同意的,但一是有点啰嗦,二是说服力不太够
0 有用 喵如登 2022-02-11 07:43:46
Lower expectation. Less is more.
0 有用 队长别开枪 2021-11-18 00:34:58
读过里面的主要观点,确实有一定道理。我们确实需要选择,但是不需要那么多的选择,过多的选择只会适得其反,因为很多情况下过多的选择不但是无用的甚至是有害的!
0 有用 国家一级小猫 2021-08-23 11:24:27
介绍让我不敢苟同,选择越多,entropy越多,但是如何通过dissipative system从entropy中获得能量,丰富人生,这是需要不断地对意识进行训练的,我还是很想看这本书因为这两年阅读原版的经验告诉我,中文简介又功利又断章取义// 读完,果然和我预料的差不多,不是选择越多让你越焦虑,而是你是一个什么样的人,你用什么样的思维面对选择,你是一个maximizer还是satisficer,... 介绍让我不敢苟同,选择越多,entropy越多,但是如何通过dissipative system从entropy中获得能量,丰富人生,这是需要不断地对意识进行训练的,我还是很想看这本书因为这两年阅读原版的经验告诉我,中文简介又功利又断章取义// 读完,果然和我预料的差不多,不是选择越多让你越焦虑,而是你是一个什么样的人,你用什么样的思维面对选择,你是一个maximizer还是satisficer,如何避免hedonic treadmill 如何避免satisfaction treasmill,最后书里给的解决方案也和我这大半年对自己进行的思维训练差不多,,总的来说虽然是一本我一开始就知道答案并且也知道会如何写的书,但是仍旧给我很多启发 (展开)