I recently borrowed and read ‘The Paradox of Choice’ by Barry Schwartz. In some ways I was anxious in reading about ‘choice’ in a modern world and its associated problems. The author was justified, to a certain extent, by providing ways to eliminate these problems to oneself. As a result of reading this book I am intent to embrace and appreciate ‘satisficing’. This is about not being a ‘maximiser’ and accepting choices that are ‘good enough’ as opposed to the ‘absolute best’.

The one statement in the book that stood out to me was actually about hapiness:

“What seems to be the most important factor in providing happiness is close social relations. People who are married, who have good friends, and who are close to their families are happier than those who are not.”…”Being connected to others seems to be much more important to subjective well-being than being rich.” (p.107)