When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#1

Post by nkurz » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 4:36 AM UTC

When It's Bad to Have Good Choices
newyorker.com

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#2

Post by hartator » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 5:13 AM UTC

It's me or there are a lot of articles from the newyorker which make the HN top?

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#3

Post by sebastianavina » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 5:46 AM UTC

hartator wrote: post #2

It's me or there are a lot of articles from the newyorker which make the HN top?

it's great! isn't it?

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#4

Post by louischatriot » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 5:54 AM UTC

This article really resonnates with me, having had to choose between two very interesting jobs. It took me 2 weeks to decide and was a really anxious period, whereas without a choice I would have taken either without a second thought.

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#5

Post by unchocked » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 5:57 AM UTC

This validates something I've suspected for a while: that decisiveness is valuable in and of itself.

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#6

Post by edmccard » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 6:03 AM UTC

hartator wrote: post #2

It's me or there are a lot of articles from the newyorker which make the HN top?

>there are a lot of articles from the newyorker which make the HN top?

There has probably been a higher frequency lately since the New Yorker has gone no-paywall for the summer.

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#7

Post by taurath » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 6:03 AM UTC

Sounds familiar. I wish the article had some sort of suggestion or hint as to what to do when you're really prone to anxiety. I have several very good options in my life right now and have made a tenative decision on what to do, but I'm finding I'm crippled by anxiety over my decision.

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#8

Post by JacobIrwin » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 6:04 AM UTC

I submit that "anxiety" here could be better defined as: the mental taxation of evaluating the opportunity cost for turning down each of the available alternatives, given a person's position on Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#9

Post by lloeki » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 6:12 AM UTC

For those who prefer video to text, Barry Schwartz (mentioned in the article) gave an insightful TED talk about this, as has Sheena Iyengar[1] (but I didn't know so haven't watched it... yet). Baba Shiv has an interesting take[2].

[0]: http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_ch...

[1]: http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosi...

[2]: http://www.ted.com/talks/baba_shiv_sometimes_it_s_good_to_gi...

Re: When It's Bad to Have Good Choices

#10

Post by paulsutter » Sat, Aug 02, 2014, 6:25 AM UTC

When faced with a difficult decision, it probably doesn't matter which choice you take. Emotionally it's difficult to accept this. But logically it's easy:

- If one of the two choices was clearly better, it would be an easy decision

- But it is difficult. Therefore, neither of the two choices is clearly better.

- Therefore, it doesn't matter much which you choose.

This doesn't work for people who feel irrational regret (ie, regretting a decision that turned out badly because of information that was not known at the time of the decision). Yes, irrational regret is very common. But it's just another logical failing that can be overcome.

If you still feel anxiety when forced to choose between two good choices, go visit a third world country.