Why Having More Good Choices Makes Us Feel Worse?
“Economists point out that the quality of any given option cannot be assessed in isolation from its alternatives. One of the “costs” of any option involves passing up the opportunities that a different option would have afforded”
The above quote is from Barry Schwartz’s book, The Paradox of Choice, explaining the meaning of opportunity cost, a concept that I wasn’t fully aware of; I found it very helpful to better understand our options before making a trade-off. In this article, I share quick thoughts related to the Missed Opportunities of the same book.
Each decision has its implications, but the Paradox of Choice, mainly the Missed Opportunities chapter, highlights the emotional consequences of being offered multiple good choices. These emotions come from the fact that we have to drop an excellent choice to live with another; our emotions would get negatively affected after we make the decision that sounds best for us. In other words, our satisfaction will be less. According to my understanding of The Paradox of Choice concepts, the main reason behind these emotions is that our minds would still think of the other options that we could have chosen. We are attached to these options and the benefits they offer with them. Take three job offers as an example; each has different benefits that can’t be found in the other, now you have to choose one option. Good luck!
Schwartz goes deeper and deeper, explaining the negative emotions caused by this paradox and how these emotions lower our satisfaction after we make a decision.
“Negative emotion also distracts us, inducing us to focus on the emotion rather than the decision itself”
While reading this, I wondered, why don’t we consider the positive features of our potential decision and accept that we can’t get the best of all options? Admitting this might help us minimize negative emotions. I try applying this strategy to the multiple opportunities I have today before making a life-changing decision and picking the option I see best for my future.
The same chapter also sheds light on the evidence that when we are in a better mood, we tend to think positively, and vice-versa. So the more positive behavior we inject into our thinking, the more pleasant the chosen option will be. Adopting this concept will not change the options but will increase the satisfaction of our decision.
I leave with one more line from the same chapter
“A greater variety of choices actually makes us feel worse”
Not sure you if you will agree with this at first, but I suggest to think about it twice and link it together with the missed opportunities and the trade-offs you will have to make whenver you get offered more choices.
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