We found The Art Of Choosing so inspiring that we are holding an exclusive (but FREE) webinar with Sheena Iyengar to review the book, and provide you the opportunity to hear her thoughts on making a choice.
Click here to register for the webinar. IMPORTANT: Register today even if you can’t make it the day of the event. You can only access the webinar recording after the event if you have registered for the webinar, or if you are a Read It For Me Pro subscriber.
Don’t forget to check out our offer at the bottom of the post about how you can get Sheena’s book along with some great bonuses, for less than you can get it on Amazon.com.
What is a choice, and really guides us in out decision making.
Most western cultures have grown up with the belief that choice is good. How else do you explain the thousands of different choices available to us at the grocery store alone? However, choice isn’t always a good thing. In fact, there are some people in the world who believe that more choice is a negative thing. In a fascinating study, Asian American and Anglo American children were given a set of schoolwork tasks to do. The study concluded that the Asian American children did much better when they believed they were doing what their mothers had picked out for them to do, and the Anglo-American children did much better on tasks where they felt they had the power to choose themselves.
One of the first steps to making really great choices consistently is understanding the hard-wired factors within our psyche that guide our decision making. Sheena outlines each of these four things in a way that will resonate with every reader, but the thing that really strikes home are the six ways which we can begin to make better choices, all the time. They are:
1. Become an expert.
The best decisions are the ones we make when we have all the information. When you are the expert you can evaluate and see all of the possible outcomes. For those few things within you’re expertise you are in great shape, but for the others… well, you better keep reading.
2. Consult with others.
Chances are there are experts within most fields within your circle of connections. If you can’t become the expert yourself, find someone close to you that is. If that doesn’t work, there are always a few who are willing to help for a fee. Take advantage.
3. Collaborate.
If those that are close to you don’t fit into the “expert” category they can still help you in your decision making process. If you can convince those who care for you that your decision is the correct one, chances are it may well be.
4. Look to the crowd.
Looking to go out for dinner in a town you aren’t familiar with? Pull out your laptop and bring up the Zagat Restaurant Guide. The feedback from others can be a very powerful resource, and chances are you will be able to find one that has similar opinions to your own.
5. Categorize.
Start grouping the options together to reduce the number of options that meet all of your needs. Within minutes you will be able to reduce the number of relevant options you have to choose from.
6. Remember your past.
We’ve all hear the term “learn for your mistakes”. Your past decisions, especially how the outcome of that decision made you feel can be invaluable. Use your biases to guide you. Both positive and negative.
None of us can avoid making a choice, even when we would prefer not to. You can make better choices though, and we’ve set up the chance for you to participate in that very discussion.
Join us for this interactive webinar where you’ll learn about the reasons you make better choices, and the things that lead your decision making astray. Remember to register today even if you can’t make it the day of the event. You can only access the webinar recording after the event if you have registered for the webinar, or if you are a Read It For Me Pro subscriber.
Click here to register for the webinar
