One of the greatest things about the modern world is our abundance of choice. We can choose where to live, what to eat, who to socialize with, which job to take and which clothes to wear, among many other daily choices. While choice is definitely a blessing and something we should be grateful for, it can also unfortunately be the source of panic, stress and sometimes, bad outcomes.
Do you remember when you were a kid and you were at the ice cream shop, looking at all the flavors and you felt the flood of excitement go through you because there were so many great flavors to choose from? While that is likely a happy memory, there are times when too many choices is far from a happy, joyful thing. Many people get overwhelmed when they have too many choices and it can lead to thoughts and feelings of confusion and self doubt. When there are many choices it creates more pressure on a person to ‘pick the right thing or else suffer the consequences’ kind of a scenario. This is not productive and many times, instead of facing that set of circumstances, people choose to give up and stick with status quo.
For many people a good editing session can help us to refine what we really do want and need and therefore the right choice becomes much more evident. Many magazines recommend cleaning out your closet and dresser drawers a few times a year so that you weed out clothes you don’t actually wear. Once you get rid of the stuff that never actually graces your body, you can see the clothes you really do wear and have a much better chance of creating successful outfits. This is true with job offers or menu selections at a restaurant or even test driving cars. After you learn what doesn’t work for you, and move on from it, you narrow it down to what does and why it does and you have a much more clear, less over whelming crop of choices in front of you.
Many times, when it comes to making choices, it is true that more is not always better. I often wish the grocery store only had two choices for yogurt, not 42, because boy, would it save me time and brain cells. It’s the same with beauty products; my mind gets boggled looking at mascara tubes with various claims about what they’ll do for my lashes. I wish there were two or three brands to choose from, with clear claims, as it would make life much easier for myself and women everywhere.
In our already fast paced world, too many choices just adds a new wrinkle to the landscape. It is a phenomenon that allows many people to remain stuck in a bad place for fear of making the wrong choice, simply because there are so many out there! That’s why educating yourself, then applying strategic editing, in any situation where you are overwhelmed with choices, are the best first steps you can make. The more you know about what you are deciding upon, the easier it will be for you to pass over certain choices and see what is truly best for you.
Don’t let joy pass you by because the abundance of choices sends you running away screaming into the streets. Simple process of elimination techniques will help you narrow your playing field and allow the best possible choices to shine in a way you might have never thought possible. The next time you have a tough choice to make and think there are simply too many possibilities, employ these steps and don’t let too many choices rob you of the joy you deserve.
