Options destroy us. Can we destroy some options intentionally to regain some wellbeing?
Photo by Kris Atomic on Unsplash
It used to be very easy for men to buy “workwear”. That’s the stuff regular people who went to regular offices wore. Shirt and trousers (pants). Trousers were especially easy for men. Just choose from black or grey. Style? Just choose from tight or loose fit. Everyone wore the same. Most people I knew in the company I worked for went to the same retailer.
It took about 3 minutes to try them on and another 2 minutes to pay. Done in 5 minutes total.
Now, fast forward 10 years, they have stopped selling the standard boring style and they now come in about 50 styles and 100 shades in total. And different functional fabrics to choose from. That’s really a lot more decisions needed. It means that we need to use a lot of our limited mental resources just to choose our pants. And multiply that for options for toothpaste, tea, bread, mobile phone data plans, and almost everything we have to buy. It’s really tough.
I just mentioned men’s workwear. For “real fashion”, read x 500. Now the leading fashion brands not only have an enormous range of colours and styles, but they also change everything every two weeks.
It sounds great to have options but it’s really creating a lot more clutter and demand on our time and attention. And that results in people being more busy, tired and distracted with the inconsequential.
What’s really important in our lives is being replaced with the inconsequential but time and attention demanding. And our wellbeing and sanity is sacrificed.
Simply put too many options paralyse us when we have to make decisions. Too many options create arguments when clearly defined action would have compelled us to simple and clear right actions.
I am curious, can an intentional effort to reduce options in our daily lives help us reclaim some of our lost peace of mind and time and energy, and devote more of our energy to the really important things which matter?