Less Is More

I'm finishing up the book, The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. It's an incredible book that talks about the negative consequences of choice-overload in modern society. You can hear a presentation by Barry Schwartz at a Google TechTalk on this topic.

Barry Schwartz argues that choice and freedom are good. But he warns that even choice and freedom have dark-sides that are rarely acknowledged. Excess choice causes paralysis, causes people to make worse decisions, and causes people to feel worse about their decisions.

We have been led to believe that more freedom means more welfare, and that more choice means more freedom. But in fact, more choice and more freedom leads to increased difficulty in making decisions and less satisfaction.

The strategy that Barry Schwartz recommends as a way to deal with choice-overload and regret, may surprise you.

But individuals who regularly experience and express gratitude are physically healthier, more optimistic about the future, and feel better about their lives than those who do not. Individuals who experience gratitude are more alert, enthusiastic, and energetic than those who do not, and they are more likely to achieve personal goals.

The Paradox of Choice reminds us again that life does not consist merely in what we possess or what we consume. God is the only thing worthy of our affections and passions. No "thing" can take His place. Even the secular world is beginning to understand, that when it comes to happiness, less is more.