Recently I've been faced with the project of selecting my laptop for school next year. And honestly the process has become quite overwhelming- millions of brands, features, systems, colors, sizes, operating systems, harddrive space, mehhhhh... I was having flashbacks to my seven months of laureate research on the Tyranny of Choice and realized that I had learned absolutely nothing about dealing with difficult decisions...like this. Well actually its not that I didn't learn...its that I haven't applied them. As the person that I am I wouldn't want anyone who is reading this blog to suffer the same mental, emotional, and subsequently psychological stress that I have encountered making this decision. So here's a few tips that may help when you are making an important decision...especially one in which the choices are overwhelming.Choose when to choose.
We can decide to restrict our options when the
decision is not crucial. For example, make a rule
to visit no more than two stores when shopping
for clothing.
Learn toaccept
“good enough.”
Settle for a choice that meets your core
requirements rather than searching for the
elusive “best.” Then stop thinking about it.
Don’t worry about
what you’re missing.
Consciously limit how much you ponder the
seemingly attractive features of options you
reject. Teach yourself to focus on the positive
parts of the selection you make.
Control expectations.
“Don’t expect too much, and you won’t be
disappointed” is a cliché. But that advice
is sensible if you want to be more satisfied
with life.
Read Dr. Schwartz's full article here http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bschwar1/Sci.Amer.pdf
(hint: it starts on page 3 of the pdf )
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