Making choices have been on my mind lately. We are making choices day in and day out from what to wear (the easier decisions) to what direction should we take our career (the more difficult questions that aren't as easy to answer). Some choices we wish others would make for us. Some choices we wish to make ourselves.
While watching TED Talk, I came across these three wonderful videos that really hit home on the art of making choices. There is so much great stuff that it is better to listen to them yourself to really get the information first hand.
Note: These videos are not short. They range from 10 to 20 minutes long. You can listen to some or all the videos or view them on YouTube and save them for later or come back when you have time to watch them.
Three Lecture Videos about Choosing
The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
This talk is so empowering. Sheena talks about how we make choices and how we feel about the choices we make. She talks about unimportant choices and more life-altering choices and she shares her research about choosing and how different countries have different viewpoints on choosing.
How To Make Hard Choices by Ruth Chang
The big choices in your life are harder to make than those everyday decisions. This video discusses how we make these decisions and how the decisions influence our lives.
"Hard choices are not a curse, but a Godsend." ~ Ruth Chang
Sometimes It's Good To Give Up The Driver's Seat by Baba Shiv
This talk was about how sometimes decisions made for you help you get through the trauma. Is it better to have decisions done for you, or is it better for you to make all the decisions? It's a great question to ponder. Watch the video and see for yourself.
I hope these videos helped you have a clearer picture of the art of making choices. I loved them, and I hope you did too. Let's continue the conversation. What resonated with you when you watched these videos? Leave a comment below.
William Rusho
The TED talks are one of my favorite shows to listen to on NPR. The ones you posted are very useful to listen to, we all have choices to make, even when we think we don’t have any options, Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.
Janet Barclay
Thanks for curating these! I am constantly working on my decision-making skills, and try to watch at least one TED Talk per week, so I've added these to my list for future viewing.
Sabrina
Thanks for stopping by and committing. TED Talks help me too. I'm glad they help you as well.
Adele Yuboco
Our lives are made up really of the choices we make and don't make. I love what Ruth Chang said about hard choices being important to help in our growth. Come to think of it, if all choices were easy, life will be really boring.
Sabrina
Good point, Adele. Thanks for stopping by.
Marquita Herald
I love TED Talks and have seen the first 2 talks you shared, but Baba Shiv's was new to me and I agree with other comments here that it's good to be reminded that we don't have all the answers and it's okay to ask questions and reach out to others. Excellent message!
Pamela Chollet
Gosh, they're even choices about making choices. My mom used to have an expression, Make any choice the right choice.
We really never know do we? Even if you make a million, "benefits and concerns" lists and carefully weigh each possible outcome. It's kind like doing research, there are always hidden variables and deviations we can't predict.
Beth Niebuhr
Sheena's talk is amusing and I enjoyed it. Choice certainly does vary from culture to culture. Sometimes even in our own country people get it wrong. I was shopping with my college age daughter years ago. She was very thin and wore clothes well. Neverless when she asked the clerk if she had a belt that would go well with the outfit, the clerk sniffed derisively and said that a belt wasn't appropriate for it. So we didn't buy a belt. Nor did we buy the outfit. We like to make our own choices. But remember when doctors made all the choices for us rather than giving us a say in the decision? Things do evolve.
Sabrina
Good point Beth. Thanks for commenting.
Ken Dowell
Enjoyed the talk by Baba Shiv. When you seek the advice of a doctor or lawyer or financial advisor you are admitting that you don't have all the information to make the decisions you are faced with. Maybe instead of being in the driver's seat you want to be in the back seat of a limo, so you might not make all the decisions but you have to final say in where you want to end up.
Donna Janke
I'm glad I took the time to watch the videos. Very interesting perspectives on decision making.
Meredith @ The Palette Muse
I was helping my daughter organize her closet the other day and was thinking about this concept. We were both mentally exhausted after having to make about 100 decisions about what to keep or get rid of. I like the concept of choices being a gift. There are many people all over the world who don't get the freedom of choice, so rather than be stressed out, we should be thankful.
Sabrina
That is a great point. Thanks for sharing. Congratulations to you and your daughter for clearing the clutter. =)
Lenie
Hi Sabrina, you are so right about having to make choices everyday - right or wrong? what to have for supper? Where to go on holidays? etc. but the career choices are probably the most difficult. I don't have to worry about that anymore - my career is done - however it was my career that led to my blogging and from there to learning so now I am making choices on what to learn first, what is most important to increasing traffic.
I don't think I would like to be in the position where others make choices for you - no one else can quite view things the same way.
Jacqueline Gum
Seems like each moment is a choice moment, right? It's almost a relief to know that some things really are out of our control! But then, you have tp choose to believe that! Hahaha! See what I mean? Love the videos!