Sustainable lifestyles project – situation and scoping report

Abstract

Choices made throughout one‟s life time are a significant determinant of one's well-being. Yet insufficient information and preparation for decision-making, inadequate foresight, and susceptibility to various influences and behavioural biases are among the difficulties faced by individuals when making decisions. In joint-decision making scenarios encountered in family situations, the process of choice is rendered more complex by processes like communication, negotiation and trust. And, in many situations, choices made by individuals have significant implications on other members of society – including future generations. Decisions made may not always be sustainable. In some instances, they may fail to meet the very objectives being sought by the individual, or they may not sustainable for the individual in the long run, in other instances they may meet the objectives of the individual but not of his or her family. In some situations, the ramifications of unsustainable decisions may be felt by society as a whole, and by generations to follow, having to try to make good for the costs of decisions taken at an individual level.