In “The Paradox of Choice — Why More Is Less,”psychologist Barry Schwartz wrote, “The fact that some choice isgood doesn't necessarily mean that more choice is better.” The influential bookargues that rather than increasing happiness and well-being, anabundance of choice can contribute to feelings of anxiety,depression and wasted time.
“Part of the downside of abundant choice,” he explains, “is thateach new option adds to the list of trade-offs, and trade-offs havepsychological consequences. The necessity of making trade-offs …affects the level of satisfaction we experience from the decisionswe ultimately make.”
Anyone who has stood in the grocery store aisle, overwhelmed bythe sea of colorful packaging, or spent hours scrolling throughtheir Netflix queue looking for the perfect show or movie insteadof actually watching something can probably relate.
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Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.
