“…35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40…” I was counting the seemingly endless snack varieties displayed in a supermarket

“…35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40…” I was counting the seemingly endless snack varieties displayed in a supermarket. It was fun to check the labeling and packaging but confusing too. Instead of making a quick choice and leaving, I was walking back and forth, unable to decide. I felt restless. “This is overchoice,” I muttered.

Overchoice. Choice overload. Terms coined by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book ‘Future Shock’. When too many choices are given to consumers, they are unable to make a decision. Eventually, many buy something but are still unsatisfied. They keep wondering if they could have ‘done better.’ What if they had bought that other brand instead? They are suffering from overchoice.

“People of the future may suffer not from an absence of choice but from a paralysing surfeit of it. They may turn out to be victims of that peculiarly super-industrial dilemma: overchoice.” – Alvin Toffler

A plethora of choices has been associated with freedom and pleasure but human minds don’t work that way. Let’s say you want to invest an amount – you want to do it right and you want maximum returns for your investment. Wealth professionals will give you plenty of choices and load you with documents filled with complicated small print. Once a choice is made, you wonder if you could have invested in another, better option. Other options seem better in retrospect. It robs you of the pleasure derived from making your best choice.

“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard.” – Barry Schwartz

When too many choices invade life, the result can be misery. It takes paralysis by analysis or overthinking to new heights. Social media exacerbates this syndrome. Are others living better lives and experiencing greater things than you are? Is there something crucial that is somehow obvious to everyone else but you? Are you missing out on something big? The fear of missing out or FOMO is a perpetual longing to be part of the ‘action’ while not experiencing your own life. FOMO is insidious. You are never satisfied, no matter what. It leads to stress and anxiety but not much else. You miss out on your life by imagining that others are living a charmed existence.

“That fear of missing out on things makes you miss out on everything.” – Etty Hillesum

How does one navigate life decisions in a world saturated by excessive choices? First, make a list of your options. Which one gives you the most joy, freedom, and improves the quality of your life? Make that choice. Unfortunately, most prefer to cling to familiar ground even if it makes them miserable. Making the right choice means having the courage to let go of something that adds no value to your life. Make the tradeoffs required and move on as quickly as you can. The more you cling, the more regret you will experience later in life.

Many times, dissatisfied people stay where they are because they are not in tune with their needs and are fearful. They can tweak their external environment all they want but if their internal environment is unhealthy, life will be a drag. They worry about the past and future, while life passes by them, moment by moment. They are entirely dependent on external sources to validate who they are and how they live. When everything in your life is decided by others and your happiness depends on what others think, you feel miserable.

“If you are an approval addict, your behavior is as easy to control as that of any other junkie. All a manipulator need do is a simple two-step process: Give you what you crave, and then threaten to take it away. Every drug dealer in the world plays this game.”- Harriet B. Braiker

Always have other options. Make introspection a regular practice. Learn to be comfortable with yourself. Go to a quiet place and become calm. Decisions made in desperation or anger will not serve you. Does what you are doing hold any meaning for you? What is non-negotiable? What can you afford to let go of? What are the tradeoffs? What option works best for you? Understand your needs before you make every decision. Why suffer when preparing in advance makes it easy to welcome and embrace big decisions?

“For me, it is always important that I go through all the possible options for a decision.” – Angela Merkel

Once you understand yourself better, the ‘comfort zone’ no longer holds any meaning for you. You now ask questions that will exponentially improve your life. Are you surrounded by people who bring out the best in you? Do you feel good being around them? How can you put yourself in an environment that works best for you?

Options no longer seem overwhelming because you’ve made a conscious, deliberate decision. Your mind becomes your friend instead of filling your head with fearful thoughts. Other choices no longer matter. You are able to ignore them and don’t suffer regret. You are happy to walk on, experiencing life as it happens, neither looking backward or worrying too much about the future. Life, you know, will help you as long as you live your choices well.

“Man’s desire for the approval of his fellows is so strong, his dread of their censure so violent, that he himself has brought his enemy (conscience) within his gates; and it keeps watch over him, vigilant always in the interests of its master to crush any half-formed desire to break away from the herd.” – W. Somerset Maugham