Ballet Slippers or Adorable?
I really enjoyed Dr. Iyengar's presentation on the art of choosing. Her findings showing how differently other cultures viewed and felt about choice was enlightening. The majority of Americans staunchly support our freedom of choice, our right to choose. We simply can not imagine living in an environment that limits choice at best or eliminates choice at worst. For me it is not such a black and white issue, choices are not all created equally. Which restaurant would you like to go to for dinner tonight is far less important than which wire do I cut , the white or the blue, to prevent this bomb from blowing up in twelve seconds. I would exert a great deal of effort and concentrate every single synapse available to ensure I made the right choice in the latter example. The urgency to choose correctly in the former pales in comparison. I like to have choices in even the simplest decisions that I face each day. Choices offer variety, opportunity, even freedom to my otherwise boring existence. But I still assign meaning and importance to the choices I experience each day. If going to a specific restaurant is important to someone else, then the choice, as far as I'm concerned, is all theirs. I agree with Dr. Iyengar's first assumption with slight modification giving the most important choices higher priority and allowing more time to address them.Many people I know just can not make a choice. If they do, it is painful to watch. How can we be so bad at doing something we have been practicing since infancy? I didn't get any better perspective from the video on this subject however compelling. In her second assumption, Dr. Iyengar claims that the more options to choose from the better your choice in the end. To me, having more choices seems to lessen the importance of choosing. Moreover, it begs the question, if there are so many choices, do I need to choose at all? It may be faulty logic, but my thinking is how different could that many options really be anyway? I don't recall if Dr. Iyengar stated her personal position on this assumption, but she related that her studies actually showed that people made poorer choices when ten or more options were available to choose from. I tend to agree with her studies.
Never say no to choice is not an achievable statement. If you say no to choice, you chose not to choose. Enough word play...in my daily activities I like to explore and make the choices as they arise. Choices add some level of excitement the routine day. Some choices (if the correct choice is made) can prevent trouble and frustration from escalating into anger and aggression tomorrow. At home, choice is sometimes difficult especially when there are no good options, but mostly it is almost a passive event. Often choices are made without much thought and even less on the effects of making the wrong choice. In the work center, the effects of choice are much more significant.
The ability to make good coices or the apparent inability or lack of desire to choose at all can cause damage, sometimes irreparable. When people will not or are hesitant to choose, they are often judged by their peers and superiors. Often labeled weak or uncaring, people can carry this stigma for a long time, especially if it is allowed to continue for any length of time. There is a difference between wrong and bad choices. While one is probably a mistake and the other possibly a crime, the labels are just as harsh. Making the wrong choice can result in the perception that you are ignorant. Repeat the mistake and you become stupid. If you make a bad choice, your labels can range from troublemaker to dangerous to inmate.
I believe the implications of not following Dr.Iyengar's assumptions are far more serious in the work force than at home. The choices you make or fail to make can paint a picture of who you are. One day I will possibly be faced with an unthinkable and seemingly impossible choice to make. I can only hope I make the right one. Until then, practice makes perfect.
Reference:
TED Global 2010: Sheena Iyengar: The Art of Choosing, Filmed July 2010 at TEDGlobal 2010
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