I’ve been reading the book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz. It’s been a fun read to as he examines how we make our decisions (and how badly we make them), plus why we can live in a generation with the most choices but still not be happy.

Two thoughts I’ve taken away so far from the book are this. First, the premise of the book…The paradox of choice today is that while we say we want to simplify our lives, we also want more control over the details of our life.

Second is that we get the most happiness when we have fewer choices, but more control over our lives. Doesn’t that at first glance conflict with itself? We want choices, and we’ll be happier if we have a few, but give us too many choices, and we’ll never be happy. (which actually reminds me of another book I’m working through, but that’s for another post).