The one-sentence summary

True choice requires the correct balance of freedom to choose an option, and freedom from choosing it by an external force.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS THE ART OF CHOOSING

  • Choice is the only tool we have for achieving fulfilment in life, allowing us to be masters of our worlds. Sometimes the choices don’t matter that much – like which fizzy drink to go for – but others are important, such as those about jobs and relationships.
  • Each major choice has a significant bearing on our quest for contentment, and this book purports to help us make better-informed decisions.
  • The main factors influencing choice are:

~ Your past – referred to here as your prologue

~ Temptation – the call of the wild

~ Unfamiliarity – being a stranger in a strange land

~ Selfishness – a ‘song of myself’

~ Values – your sense and sensibility

~ Independence – the degree to which you copy others

~ Materialism – a desire to be lord of the things

  • If you want to improve your chances of making decent choices, try these four tips:
  • True choice requires the correct balance of freedom to choose an option, and freedom from choosing it by an external force.
  1. Cut your options down to a manageable number – 7 is probably the maximum*
  2. Cultivate confidence in your choices – by getting sensible and reliable advice and information
  3. Categorise your choices – to weigh up the pros and cons effectively
  4. Condition yourself – by experimenting with easier choices before embarking on the more complex ones

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT

  • It is a mix of biology, business and psychology, distilled by a thoughtful author who is reflective and humane, and appears to have a strong moral compass.
  • Learned optimism is where we adjust our vision to see that we have control, rather than passively receiving what life throws at us.
  • Culturally, Easterners actively prefer to have less choice, although this may be changing. While this tendency can reduce selfishness, it can increase stagnation, particularly in companies.
  • As Citizens of Choiceland, we are ‘obliged to be free’. For some, this carries a heavy burden. Long-term self-control is needed to make wise life decisions about health, spending and saving.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH

  • This is a rolling narrative, not a textbook, so you can only find these nuggets if you read it systematically and make notes.

*This derives from George Miller’s 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”, in which he showed that beyond that figure we have real trouble processing information.