The Paradox of Choice

It's the problem of our lives

Elon and Kanye are bringing us into the free speech era, and that means humans have a chance to make an evolutionary leap that matches technological advancement. But this also means people need to understand the mechanics of how to speak their truth and share their feelings in a way that helps everyone move forward. Founder of Google’s Life Design Lab, Sameer Rawjee, tackles this question in his new book “Die Before you Die: how to tell the truth so you can start living” launching on Kindle June 12th. Preorder here

Friends,

Blaise Pascal, the French scientist and philosopher, observed:

“All of humanity's problems, stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

We bring misery upon ourselves because we can’t focus and yet we continue to develop a world where we have more choice.

For the first time in a long time, this week, I had some TV downtime. I hardly watch any TV any more - and actually, it transpired that I didn’t watch any TV again, that evening. Despite Netflix’s attempt to tailor the gruesome thriller crime options to my liking, I scrolled, endlessly, for 40 minutes. Too much choice for me to invest my time.

Peter Drucker, the management theorist, had a keen understanding of human nature. He made the following observation, which remains uncannily accurate:

In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time - literally - substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.

Ahead of his time.

I had always thought that choice was because of technology, but this quote rang true. As society has evolved, we continue to have choice, more and more of it. Over time, society has indeed evolved into a world where the abundance of choices, driven by commerce and technology, has become overwhelming -"the paradox of choice."

This paradox is inherent in everything we do: In supermarkets, there are dozens of options for basic products like toothpaste, breakfast cereal, and shampoo. It’s no wonder we, as consumers, feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices.Barry Schwartz, in his book "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less," explains that "as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. The process of choosing can become so daunting that we end up not choosing at all." That’s what happened to me - and why I wasted a hour of downtime. I should have just gone to sleep.

While choice provides variety, it can also lead to paralysis by analysis, where people spend more time deciding what to watch than actually watching. As Henry Ford remarked, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." Too many options can cloud true innovation and simplicity.

Technology is part of this infinite choice world problem. While choice is often equated with freedom and autonomy, an overabundance of options can result in decision fatigue, anxiety, and diminished satisfaction. It’s part of the problem of society, but we rarely call it out. To mitigate these adverse effects, society must adopt structural solutions that streamline decision-making processes and enhance overall well-being. It’s why mindfulness is talked about incessantly.

How do we solve the paradox of choice?

Restrict choice: That might be as simple as a mental model to restrict your own choice. The Mark Zuckerberg approach to clothing. He simplifies decision-making by wearing his trademark uniform of jeans, trainers, and a grey T-shirt. He does this every morning.

Automate your life - This is where you can use technology to automate the tasks - or leveraging the power of AI to save you time and make the decision for me. I just asked Chat-GPT what time I need to leave for a journey based on historic traffic patterns. If only I could add that to my calendar automatically. (no doubt that will come, but for now I had to ask Google to do that, so less automated than I wanted it to be)

Limit Information: If you feel overwhelmed, limit your intake of news, email - and overlap. Unsubscribe like a boss. I even urge you to do this with this newsletter if it’s doesn’t bring you curiosity or joy.

Be clear on your goals: If it doesn’t move the lever, don’t do it. Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. This means prioritizing choices that align with your core objectives. Adopt minimalist principles. Focus on quality over quantity. Choose fewer, better things.

I say this today because in a few weeks we will be at the middle of 2024. What happened to the first half of the year? Remember, with limited time, you need less choices. Life moves fast. Choose the right solutions.

Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,

Rahim

Here are my recommendations for this week:

Part of my workflow on consuming and learning information has been ramped up by AI tools. One that I’m using regularly is TubeonAI which creates summaries of videos and podcasts in seconds. If you need to up your lifelong learning to stay ahead of the game, sign up for free and then use code BOXOFAMAZING for a premium discount) Sign up

Now

1. A 4 minute primer on the 3 things to expect from AI over the next 5 years: The 3 things that Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes are the imminent AI advancements are: Infinitely long context windows, AI agents, Text-to-action (Just say it - and it will happen!) Related: Will A.I. Be a Creator or a Destroyer of Worlds? and This Is What It Looks Like When AI Eats the World

2. That feeling between burnout and depression? It's called ‘languishing’. The exhausting sensation of endless blah is gaining increased recognition. How to overcome this:

   1. Social Connections: Emphasize quality over quantity in friendships and engage in more in-person interactions to reduce feelings of isolation.

   2. Learning: Pursue learning for personal enjoyment rather than solely for external goals, as it can combat feelings of stagnation.

   3. Self-Comparison: Focus on personal growth rather than comparing oneself to others, which can hinder self-improvement.

   4. Letting Go of Failures: Practice self-acceptance and move past previous mistakes to foster emotional well-being.

   5. Active Leisure: Engage in active leisure activities rather than passive ones to increase life satisfaction and overall happiness.

3. Step aside BMI, body composition tests are on the rise. You need the real data to understand whats happening. also: “Everybody walks wrong” – This walking expert gives four tips to help improve your posture and age-proof your body

4. In their own words: What young people wish they’d known about social media: Kids coming of age with social media are forging ahead in a whole new world. And now that they are getting older, they have some advice for their younger peers.

5. Bad Boy for Life: Sean Combs’ History of Violence: For decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs was hip-hop’s boisterous showman. Now, dozens of former friends, employees, and Bad Boy artists allege an abusive, menacing figure behind the facade

Next

1. How to Lead an Army of Digital Sleuths in the Age of AI: Eliot Higgins and his 28,000 forensic foot soldiers at Bellingcat have kept a miraculous nose for truth—and a sharp sense of its limits—in Gaza, Ukraine, and everywhere else atrocities hide online.

2. What the AI boom is getting wrong (and right), according to Hugging Face’s head of global policy: Tackling racial bias, language equity, consent, and why there are so many AI girlfriends.

3. If Google Kills News Media, Who Will Feed the AI Beast? Summarization tools from OpenAI and Google offer a CliffsNotes version of journalism that may further dumb down public discourse and deliver a brutal blow to an already battered media business. Related: It Looked Like a Reliable News Site. It Was an A.I. Chop Shop. Also: As China’s Internet Disappears, ‘We Lose Parts of Our Collective Memory’

4. In Defense of the New: The future is being crafted out on the edge. Are you paying attention?

5. ‘Extremely impressive’: melanoma jab trial results excite doctors: Vaccine approach will help improve survival rates for ‘the next decades and more’, says Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician

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