Recession Makes You Happy

From Jeff Garigliano at CBS Market Watch:
If Barry Schwartz is right, then the recession may end up causing us to be a lot happier in a hurry. In his 2003 book, The Paradox of Choice, the psychologist and Swarthmore professor argued that plenty is not necessarily better. When you’re faced with 175 kinds of salad dressing at the supermarket, to take one example, you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to pick one, and you often come to regret the choice you made. Replicate that in every supermarket aisle, and in every other store and e-commerce site, and you have a formula for anxiety.
Another problem, says Schwartz, is that the culture of consumption holds out the promise that the perfect life is out there somewhere, if only you can choose the right mobile phone or coffee grinder or hand soap. Instead, says Schwartz, you might be more content if you simplified your life and lowered your expectations, creating the possibility of pleasant surprises once in a while.