There are way too many fricken options in life. Turn on Netflix for a documentary, there are thousands. Shop on Amazon for a pencil, plan to spend valuable minutes of your life on this quest. For anything in life, there is an option.
From the smallest of decisions to the biggest, we never encounter a shortage of options. We're taught that options are a good thing, so why not have more of them. There is logic in that idea, no doubt.
But when do options start losing value? When does having more actually cause harm? Does the "freedom of choices" actually make us a slave?
Pictures yourself now: standing at the grocery store in front of the condiment section scratching your head at which of the options to pick. You'll eventually nail down the best ketchup, and when you do, you'll give yourself a pat on your back for spending two minutes to make the best decision possible. (No added sugar and GMO, what could be better?!) Well done, you deserve the congratulations!
You've jumped through a small hoop and solved one of the many questions of your day. But what happens when the question of ketchup choice is replaced by the puzzlement of where to begin that new business venture? When a small decision is replaced by a big one? Where clarity might never be seen from the forefront?
A multitude of options leaves us lost in a world, not knowing where to take our first step. A simple choice is turned complex, the complex choice made impossible.
We've created a world of options, but have become a slave to that exact same world we exalt.
It's validating to build life around having to decide. When we sit on our throne of life, we get to become the judge and jury of the multitudes of choice that are presented before us. We can listen to the merits of each case, and dwell on each one as the arbiter to all things needing our thought. It's a high place to sit: being the chief decision maker.
Sometimes, we find resolution. But for those more challenging decisions, we ponder for months or years. We continue to collect facts, hoping to one day be prepared to make the decision.
Do you think you'll ever have all the facts you need to make the big decisions in life?
Do you think the challenging decisions, like who to marry or if you should quit your job or what is your life purpose will all of a sudden just magically have an answer? How long will you live waiting to figure out what to do? When will you take action?
"Axes are meant to be swung and hammers are meant to strike. And while not every blow lands square on is mark, each swing is an attempt to build a foundation on which we can proudly rest our future. We will never be 100% ready. Action is the antidote to delay." -Michael Desanti
Living on a throne of decision making is an honored role to fill. You are the Chief Decision Maker. But will you ever be the Chief Doer? Will you ever take action? Are you willing to make mistakes? Are you willing to live with uncertainty? Are you willing to fail?
Our analysis of choice leads us down the path of trying to understand exactly what will come out of any certain outcome. Will X happen or Y? Will we regret this or appreciate it? Will it make us rich or poor? Happier or sad?
We like the safety of knowing the outcome.
But for those big questions in life, we're never going to know the outcome. We're never going to know what's right or what's wrong....that is until we can look back and see the results.
Hindsight gives the 20/20 perspective.
Every day we have the choice of picking up our axe to swing, of hoping our hammer will strike. Every day we're given hours to live in which we might take action. In which we might do things.
We might succeed. We might fail. We won't know until after we've tried.
The curse of options is paralysis. Of being forever lost in the murkiness of waiting for more information. The antidote is action. It's doing.
The antidote is accepting that you'll make an imperfect decision, and moving forward into the world with that partial blindness. It's accepting that you're doing your best with the information before you. You may be right. You may be wrong.
But who cares. At least you'll find out. And whatever the outcome, you're building a foundation for life. You'll succeed or you'll learn.
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