Relative Freedom
(In Part 1 of this series, we explored Sway, by Ori and Rom Brafman, a powerful book that discusses several psychological forces that drive irrational behavior. Here, in Part 2, we continue by looking at Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.)
How free are you?
Some people pretend that they are completely free to [...]
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Under the Influence
How do you make decisions?
Do you analyze the situation, and weigh all the pros and cons before taking action?
Or do you just go with your gut, without giving it much thought?
Whichever way you decide, you probably feel that you’re in charge of your decisions, and your life.
Sometimes our gut feelings are based [...]
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The Gatekeeper
Why is it so hard to see the truth about ourselves?
Our desires and fears color everything we think and see.
We’re not completely objective about anything.
But, it’s easier to look at someone else’s situation and see it more clearly, more truly.
Do you ever find yourself going in circles, unable to decide, unable to take [...]
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In the first two articles in this series, we explored seven ways that choice becomes a burden and a problem in your life.
Then, in the third article, we introduced three tools you can use to overcome those seven problems, and get back control of your life.
Here, we present four more tools to master [...]
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Out of Control?
Are you in control of your life?
Life is wonderful, and dangerous and unpredictable.
Sure, you pretend that you have everything under control.
But you know that’s not true.
Pretending to be in control makes you feel safe.
And everyone wants to feel safe.
It’s hard to think about personal growth, enjoying life, or anything else, when you don’t [...]
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Very few things in this world are one-sided, all good or all bad.
In Part 1 of this series I introduced the idea that the extraordinary human power of choice can lead us into our own personal hell.
Barry Schwartz has written an insightful book on the dark side of choice, called The Paradox of Choice.
I’ve extracted [...]
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Do you think that having more choices is good for you?
Choice is critical to the feeling and practice of freedom. Without choice, you would be doing exactly what you’re told to do, every moment of the day.
You’d be following your programming like a machine with no soul.
A kind of pretend choice is where you [...]
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