In life, we face an endless amount of choices, and in Our Unhealthy Obsession With Choice, Renata Salecl talks about how, in today's society, we think too much about choices.
She starts off by talking about how a lot of people can't make a decision on their own, they need other people's input. There is a story she tells about how her friend sells cars, and the way she gets buyers to buy the expensive cars is by telling them it will be better in the future, rather than what is better for the present. As humans, we have depicted and ideal way that we want to live our lives, and by buying that car that is better for the future, we think that we are closer to that ideal way of life.
Renata goes on to say that a lot of people have anxiety about making choices. I know I tend to have trouble making decisions because I always think I'll choose the wrong choice. For example, I have a banquet this week, that I've known about for a couple months, but I've put off picking out my dress because I think I'm going to pick out something too fancy, or too casual. One step to getting over our obsession with choice is knowing that if we make a mistake, we will learn from it, and that not every mistake isn't mistake.
The question Renata poses is, "what is we obsess over the little choices we have to make in order to avoid the bigger choices we have to make collectively? This distracts us from being the social thinkers we need to be to face the bigger problems.
Some decisions you have time to debate over, and other you don't. In the end we just have to learn to accept our choices and make the best out of them and move on to the bigger things, otherwise other people are going to end up controlling your life for you.
She starts off by talking about how a lot of people can't make a decision on their own, they need other people's input. There is a story she tells about how her friend sells cars, and the way she gets buyers to buy the expensive cars is by telling them it will be better in the future, rather than what is better for the present. As humans, we have depicted and ideal way that we want to live our lives, and by buying that car that is better for the future, we think that we are closer to that ideal way of life.
Renata goes on to say that a lot of people have anxiety about making choices. I know I tend to have trouble making decisions because I always think I'll choose the wrong choice. For example, I have a banquet this week, that I've known about for a couple months, but I've put off picking out my dress because I think I'm going to pick out something too fancy, or too casual. One step to getting over our obsession with choice is knowing that if we make a mistake, we will learn from it, and that not every mistake isn't mistake.
The question Renata poses is, "what is we obsess over the little choices we have to make in order to avoid the bigger choices we have to make collectively? This distracts us from being the social thinkers we need to be to face the bigger problems.
Some decisions you have time to debate over, and other you don't. In the end we just have to learn to accept our choices and make the best out of them and move on to the bigger things, otherwise other people are going to end up controlling your life for you.