Having just moved into a new apartment, I went shopping yesterday for household items like cleaning materials, and was overwhelmed with the variety of options before me. Wipe or spray? With or without bleach? Which brand? Did a higher price mean better quality?
I felt time passing and my anxiety rising as I grabbed item after item trying to compare and make a choice. Finally out of frustration I moved on and left the decision for another day, perhaps after I had done my “homework”.
How often have you found yourself at an intersection struggling to choose the best road to take? How often have you avoided making a decision for fear of making the “wrong” decision, which perhaps would result in some catastrophic chain of events? Or making a decision and later doubting your choice for hours or days?
Fear of the unknown - i.e. when there is more than one viable option or when the result of our actions is unclear – results in a sense of anxiety which is sometimes paralyzing. But not a day goes by that we don’t make hundreds of little decisions, often unconsciously, where the outcome is unclear. If you look back you’ll find that most often your foreseen catastrophe never took place. The price we pay for indecision is often greater than making a mistake: mental anguish, putting off time-sensitive decisions, inability to enjoy the fruits of a “good enough” decision. Often the mistakes we make aren’t as bad as we predict, and even give us more confidence to make decisions in the future.
So the next time you find yourself stuck in the grocery store, give yourself 30 seconds to review the facts, then grab a “good enough” option and move on! That’s what I’m going to do later today.
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