
The Paradox of Choice
Why More is Less
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Narrated by:
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Ken Kliban
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By:
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Barry Schwartz
About this listen
In the spirit of Alvin Tofflers' Future Shock, a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret.
Whether were buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions - both big and small - have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice - the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish - becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice--from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs--has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.
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Let Me Save You the Credit
- By Evert on 03-16-19
By: Kevin Simler, and others
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Predictably Irrational
- The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
- By: Dan Ariely
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.
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Good lessons, mediocre science?
- By William Stanger on 02-24-09
By: Dan Ariely
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Decisive
- How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
- By: Chip Heath, Dan Heath
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In Decisive, the Heaths, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. Written in an engaging and compulsively listenable style, Decisive takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star’s ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO’s disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions.
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Solid Wothwhile Advice - get you WRAP on
- By GH on 03-27-13
By: Chip Heath, and others
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Work Optional
- Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way
- By: Tanja Hester
- Narrated by: Tanja Hester
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Tanja Hester and her husband Mark left their crazed careerist lifestyle to live their dream life in Lake Tahoe, retiring early from high-stress careers. Now Tanja will help you map out a customized plan for freedom and make it easy to succeed, whether you're good at math and budgeting - or not! Work Optional is more than just a financial plan: it's a plan for your whole life-designed by you, not by an employer or clients.
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This has it all.
- By bobby on 02-22-19
By: Tanja Hester
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Nature Wants Us to Be Fat
- The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent - and Reverse - It
- By: Richard J. Johnson MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Nature puts a “survival switch” in our bodies to protect us from starvation. Stuck in the “on” position, it’s the hidden source of weight gain, heart disease, and many other common health struggles. But you can turn it off.
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So informative.
- By Geneva on 02-18-22
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The Upside of Stress
- Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
- By: Kelly McGonigal
- Narrated by: Kelly McGonigal
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 44 percent of Americans admit to losing sleep over stress. And while most of us do everything we can to reduce it, Stanford psychologist and best-selling author Kelly McGonigal, PhD, delivers a startling message: Stress isn't bad. In The Upside of Stress, McGonigal highlights new research indicating that stress can, in fact, make us stronger, smarter, and happier - if we learn how to embrace it.
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Bedtime Reading for Insomniacs
- By Rich on 11-26-17
By: Kelly McGonigal
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Stumbling on Happiness
- By: Daniel Gilbert
- Narrated by: Daniel Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy–and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes.
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Great Book!
- By TL on 06-09-06
By: Daniel Gilbert
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Nudge
- Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness [Expanded Edition]
- By: Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we are all susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, the family, and even the planet itself.
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An overly long Nudge in the right direction
- By Jay on 06-08-13
By: Richard H. Thaler, and others
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Thinking in Bets
- Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
- By: Annie Duke
- Narrated by: Annie Duke
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In Super Bowl XLIX, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made one of the most controversial calls in football history: With 26 seconds remaining, and trailing by four at the Patriots' one-yard line, he called for a pass instead of a handing off to his star running back. The pass was intercepted, and the Seahawks lost. Critics called it the dumbest play in history. But was the call really that bad? Or did Carroll actually make a great move that was ruined by bad luck? Even the best decision doesn't yield the best outcome every time.
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Wasn't For Me
- By ❤️One.Crazy&Cool.Family❤️ on 09-04-18
By: Annie Duke
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The Art of Thinking Clearly
- By: Rolf Dobelli
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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A novelist, thinker, and entrepreneur, Rolf Dobelli deftly shows that in order to lead happier, more prosperous lives, we don't need extra cunning, new ideas, shiny gadgets, or more frantic hyperactivity - all we need is less irrationality. Simple, clear, and always surprising, this indispensable audiobook will change the way you think and transform your decision making - at work, at home, every day.
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Major Downer
- By Daniel Ales on 01-22-20
By: Rolf Dobelli
What did you love best about The Paradox of Choice?
The author made it clear not only how much the phenomenon of "overchoice" affects us, but how to overcome it.What other book might you compare The Paradox of Choice to and why?
I've really never read anything similar.What three words best describe Ken Kliban’s voice?
Aloof, clipped, and unemotionalWhat’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
The way to enjoy your choices more is to impose your own limits on choice.Any additional comments?
As a recovering perfectionist, I found this book to be a wonderful guide to living a simpler, more satisfying life by limiting the choices that I have to make and by consciously choosing the amount of value that I assign to the choices that I do make.Awesome book for overcoming perfectionism
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I went in expecting to hear that your decisions don't benefit from have 7 options versus having three option. I was very short sighted.
Schwartz discusses many important topics. And refreshingly, also offers his own opinions as a researcher, writer, and human. It doesn't read like a literature review; more like a deep conversation.
Highly recommended.
This one hit close to home
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I was pleased to find I am in the second type, since the first type, maximisers are usually under more stress. It was interesting to see how our choices are often framed by clever marketeers, and how we can evaluate and expose their schemes. Don't worry though. You won't go wrong if you choose to read this book.
Why Choice Is Difficult for Many Today
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Worth the Purchase.
A very thought provoking audio book
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so much wisdom lies within!
so glad I got this book!
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narrator is excellent but script is not easy
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Fascinating!
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A bit repetitive, and the beginning made me think “omg is he going to tell us how to change?” He did, glad I finished it!
alleviated anxiety about consumerism
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If you have seen the TedTalk don’t buy the book
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- Seeking what's good enough instead of seeking the best.
- Lowering our expectations about the results of our decisions.
- Paying less attention to what others around us are doing.
In a study where either 6 varieties or 24 varieties of jam were available for people to sample, more people were interested when there were 24 varieties displayed. However, only 3% of the people exposed to the large array of jams bought a jar, while 30% of the people exposed to the small array bought a jar. Too many choices discourage consumers to make a purchase because of the effort needed to select one. With information overload, consumers decide not to decide. If a decision is made, the effort expended detract from the enjoyment derived from the purchase.
The book describes many ways to ease the burden of making a decision and lessen the stress and dissatisfaction from picking one. Some of the content is based on research done by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. If you're already familiar with their work, some of the content is repetitive.
Seek to satisfice versus maximize
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