Choices Define Who We Are Analysis

Shivani Amin
October 26, 2015
Basic Composition
Paper #3- Final
Choices Define Who We Are Throughout our day, we make various decisions that impact our life in either a positive or negative way. When we make decisions that have a positive impact, we feel satisfied; yet, when we make a decision and it has a negative impact, we feel angry at ourselves and tend to go in this state of “self blaming”. Moreover, we often feel judged by others due to the decisions that we make and this in effect causes us to not be satisfied with the decisions that we make. Adam Gopnik, Malcolm Gladwell and Alain de Botton discuss in their essays the importance of how many individuals often feel unfulfilled with the choices they make when concerned with their personal

In the essays, On habit, Small changes: why the revolution will not be tweeted, and Mr. Ravioli, the three authors conclude that in order for one to truly be pleased with their choices, one should create a lifestyle and take on a mindset in which one can make decisions that are truly theirs and not have limitation that inhibit one from reaching the goal of self happiness. De Botton’s idea of the “grid of interests” relates to Gopnik’s idea of “grid of busyness” in that they both analyze how being narrow minded limits a person from creating an “outside the life box style” and both of these ideas coincide with Gladwell’s idea of “activism” in which he discusses how strong acts of activism can make one think outside of the box. De Botton begins to explain how many times individuals do not pay attention to certain places and always are in a rush to get from point A to point B. They always never stop to appreciate their surrounding and imagine their world in a dissimilar perspective. De Botton explains that when one uses “grid of interests”, one only focuses on the things that they see important and ignore all the other things around them. He discusses how having a

He infers to his audience that when we walk the streets, we never pay attention to the objects that serve no purpose in our path. Hence, one can conclude that due to the grid of interest, individuals most of the times never have the time to observe the small details and as a result they limit their imagination to always think within the box, never outside and advises that individuals should try to live a lifestyle through a different mindset. Similarly, Gopnik discusses the his lifestyle of “grids of busyness”. He explains that the lifestyle of busyness of most New Yorkers inhibits them from thinking outside the box. Gopnik discusses the idea of how many New Yorkers have a goals set for themselves to always be “busy”. He introduces the idea that being busy many times we forget to pay attention to our relationships. On various occasions, most New Yorkers are too busy to have time for friends or family. Gopnik states “The crowding of our space has been reinforced by a crowding of our time, and the only way to protect ourselves is to build structures of perpetual