I've arrived back in Portland after about ten weeks of traveling in California. I essentially toured the circumference of the state, from the northeast corner south to the Mohave Desert, then west to Los Angeles, then north along the coast to Crescent City before returning to Portland via Interstate 5. There were aspects of the trip that became tiring, like not being able to shower regularly, but the sense of independence and self reliance were empowering. In my small station wagon, I had everything I needed to sleep and eat comfortably. I began to think less about the trivial things that often distract me in my everyday life.
Today I would like to write about the phenomenon of choice, and its relation to happiness. We live in a culture, in the US anyway, where we are bombarded by choices. Or at least the illusion of choice. If you watch television, you are likely to have over a hundred channels to pick from. Grocery stores offer more than we could ever consume. How much of this privilege to choose is empowering, and at what point does it cease to bring us more enjoyment in our lives? What does it mean to be free?
I recently watched Dan Gilbert's TED talk about happiness. He presented evidence that choice may actually become a source of unhappiness, particularly if we are left to wonder whether we have made the "right" choice. I can relate to this. I sometimes feel unable to make a choice about what product to buy, or which party to go to. Often times, either choice is likely to be a possible avenue of enjoyment, but I find myself in limbo. One question to ask is; Where do my desires come from? Are they organically derived, as for example, true hunger or thirst? Are they the result of an idea, coming from my mind or an advertisement?
One choice, often omitted or overlooked, is the possibility to abstain. To choose to have neither a latte or mocha. To choose to turn off the television. In fact, particularly in regard to advertisements, television is often a source of stimulation that robs me of choice. The freedom to choose what to think about. The freedom to have feelings apart from the emotional responses that advertisements and programs are designed to provoke. Having an awareness of the process is some defense against the manipulation of consumerism, but not very much.
A strategy I sometimes use when eating out or having a drink, is to order the same thing as whatever my friend is having, if it sounds pretty good. Then at least I won't wind up in the situation of having "order envy." This may sound a bit neurotic, and it probably is, but I grew up in this crazy culture. This brings me back to Dan Gilbert's research. One of the ways, he says, that people happily accept the choices they make, is by focusing on the positive qualities of that choice afterwards. For example, say my friend orders an IPA, and I am unsure what I want to drink. I think I may want to try the Brown Ale, but I just don't know. So I order the IPA, and say to myself "who cares"? Whatever my initial impression of the taste, I am likely to develop an affinity for the taste as I drink it, deciding that the IPA was indeed my preference all along. It all hinges on the ability to not continue thinking about the choice after it has been made.
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