When you had few choices and things went bad, you could blame the world. When you have too many choices and things go bad, you blame yourself. Could the collateral damage of having so many choices be skyrocketing rates of depression and suicide — lives permeated with an undercurrent of failure?
Back in the K-Mart days, Wranglers came in pretty much one fit — bad. Uncomfortable. It wasn’t your fault. Now? With higher expectations generated by more choices? My subconscious tells me, “If I’ve got hundreds of choices in jeans, there must be one that is perfect.” So even if I get the best-fitting jeans I’ve ever had, there’s still a tinge of disappointment in the thought that there must be some out there that are better.
These are just some of the things Barry Schwartz brings up in his talk. I recommend it just for the thought it generates…