Monday 16 April 2012

The value of reflection


Good to see this interesting post by Matthew Taylor, Director of the RSA, outlining the value of reflection in our rational decision making processes. One paragraph in particular caught my eye:

Instead of ‘nudging’, which seeks to change choice architecture (for example, putting healthier food more easily in reach than unhealthy in canteens), the RSA’s ‘steer’ approach aims to give people the understanding and tools they need to change their own behaviour.

This is exactly the approach we are pioneering in a range of areas of people's lives at Life Squared - from our consumption of resources to the way we approach our lives in the first place. We'll soon be applying these principles to another important topic, which I can't announce yet, but hopefully can in a couple of weeks!

For now though, check out Matthew's post as well as Jonathan Haidt's book he refers to, as his previous book 'The happiness hypothesis' was very good.