--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think of choosing as a... both a fun…" description: "\"I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful activity and I think of choice as something that in order for you to really get what you want o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg" --- # I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful… ![“I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful activity and I think of choice as something that in order for you to really get what you want out of it you have to put a lot into it and so I'm only willing to do that for a few different things and for the rest I really just try to either…” quote by Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg) > “I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful activity and I think of choice as something that in order for you to really get what you want out of it you have to put a lot into it and so I'm only willing to do that for a few different things and for the rest I really just try to either satisfy, come up with a simple rule or let somebody else make the choice.” [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing requires effort and commitment; people tend to limit choices to avoid overwhelm, often relying on simple rules or delegating decisions. **In simple terms:** Choice is effortful; limit options. Key Takeaway Focus effort on meaningful choices. Themes decision-making effort prioritization psychology Mood practical thoughtful Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - career planning - shopping - relationships Key Concepts behavioral economics self-management Questions to Reflect On - Which choices deserve your full effort? - When should you delegate decisions? A Different Perspective Too many options can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) ## Related quotes > [I am dying soon, and I am choosing to have fun today, tomorrow and every other day I have left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/i-am-dying-soon-and-i-am-choosing-to-have-fun-today-tomorrow-and/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [“Aomame said, “It’s the same with menus and men and just about anything else: we think we’re choosing things for ourselves, but in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/aomame-said-it-s-the-same-with-menus-and-men-and-just-about-anything/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You'd be daft not to try both when there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjork/i-think-choosing-between-men-and-women-is-like-choosing-between-cake/) [Bjork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjork/) > [It's the same with menus and men and just about anything else: we think we're choosing things for ourselves, but in fact we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-s-the-same-with-menus-and-men-and-just-about-anything-else-we/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Some museum boards think that choosing an architect can be reduced to a science, but it comes down to a matter of taste, pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/some-museum-boards-think-that-choosing-an-architect-can-be-reduced-to/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Are you going to be able to shave your legs? Are you going to be able to get married? So it was constantly thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/are-you-going-to-be-able-to-shave-your-legs-are-you-going-to-be-able/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [ \[Americans\] think that choice, as seen through the American lens, best fulfills an innate and universal desire for choice in all humans. Unfortunately, these… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/americans-think-that-choice-as-seen-through-the-american-lens-best/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [“No one has the complete freedom to choose everything in his or her life, sis. They may think they do. They may think they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ameera-al-hakawati/no-one-has-the-complete-freedom-to-choose-everything-in-his-or-her/) [Ameera Al Hakawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ameera-al-hakawati/) > [I don't want my kids to ever think that I am choosing my job over them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-krasinski/i-don-t-want-my-kids-to-ever-think-that-i-am-choosing-my-job-over-them/) [John Krasinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-krasinski/) > [Choosing is a creative process, one through which we construct our environment, our lives, ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/choosing-is-a-creative-process-one-through-which-we-construct-our/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [We are sculptors finding ourselves in the evolution of choosing, not in the results of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/we-are-sculptors-finding-ourselves-in-the-evolution-of-choosing-not/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Now if you expand their choice set. Say you give them 20 different speed dates, everything goes out the window. Everybody starts choosing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/now-if-you-expand-their-choice-set-say-you-give-them-20-different/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Balancing hopes, desires and an appreciating of the possibilities with a clear-eyed assessment of the limitations: that is the art of choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/balancing-hopes-desires-and-an-appreciating-of-the-possibilities-with/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The key to getting the most from choice is to be choosy about choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-key-to-getting-the-most-from-choice-is-to-be-choosy-about-choosing/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/discipline-is-choosing-between-what-you-want-now-and-what-you-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sheena Iyengar > [“Personal happiness is always a very serious matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/personal-happiness-is-always-a-very-serious-matter/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Then, the other thing that affected my interest in choices growing up was the fact that I was going blind and that meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/then-the-other-thing-that-affected-my-interest-in-choices-growing-up/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [“move. For one thing, you’re going to start paying more attention. Yes, perhaps you’ll sometimes have a crazed, wild-eyed look, but that’s a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/move-for-one-thing-you-re-going-to-start-paying-more-attention-yes/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [What we share with animals is a desire for choice. It's a desire to have control over our life and a desire to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/what-we-share-with-animals-is-a-desire-for-choice-it-s-a-desire-to/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [You know, you take a little infant and you turn on the music mobile on their crib and you find that if you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/you-know-you-take-a-little-infant-and-you-turn-on-the-music-mobile-on/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I went home and they seemed... my parents seemed normal. They didn't seem to feel like somehow they had been victims of some Nazi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-went-home-and-they-seemed-my-parents-seemed-normal-they-didn-t-seem/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The less control people had over their work, the higher their blood pressure during work hours. Moreover, blood pressure at home was unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-less-control-people-had-over-their-work-the-higher-their-blood/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Consumers presented with six choices on an item were twice as likely to buy as consumers overwhelmed with 24 varieties of the same item.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/consumers-presented-with-six-choices-on-an-item-were-twice-as-likely/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The quality of health care continues to improve, and people are living longer, but these developments mean that we're likely to eventually find ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-quality-of-health-care-continues-to-improve-and-people-are-living/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The key to getting the most from choice is to be choosy about choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-key-to-getting-the-most-from-choice-is-to-be-choosy-about-choosing/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I used to go to this store called Draeger's and you had a little bit of that same feeling because this was a store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-used-to-go-to-this-store-called-draeger-s-and-you-had-a-little-bit/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Balancing hopes, desires and an appreciating of the possibilities with a clear-eyed assessment of the limitations: that is the art of choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/balancing-hopes-desires-and-an-appreciating-of-the-possibilities-with/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [So gut tells you "How do I feel about this right now?" It doesn't tell me how I feel about it tomorrow or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/so-gut-tells-you-how-do-i-feel-about-this-right-now-it-doesn-t-tell/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I put out a good 10 different types of drinks for them and they just said, "Oh, okay, so it's just one choice." One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-put-out-a-good-10-different-types-of-drinks-for-them-and-they-just/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Like, people are less likely to invest in their retirement when they have more options in their 401K plans than when they have fewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/like-people-are-less-likely-to-invest-in-their-retirement-when-they/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) [Explore all 158 Sheena Iyengar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful activity and I think of choice as something that in order for you to really get what you want out of it you have to put a lot into it and so I'm only willing to do that for a few different things and for the rest I really just try to either satisfy, come up with a simple rule or let somebody else make the choice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheena Iyengar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and-an-effortful-activity-and-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and-an-effortful-activity-and-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/sheena-iyengar-2596_activity_i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and_852476.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think of choosing as a... both a fun and an effortful activity and I think of choice as something that in…” — Sheena Iyengar", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sheena Iyengar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think of choosing as a......", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and-an-effortful-activity-and-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-think-of-choosing-as-a-both-a-fun-and-an-effortful-activity-and-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```