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I have an issue. I'm always indecisive.
And these are some of the questions I have to ask myself every day:
“What should I eat for lunch?”
“What should I watch when I wash
my dishes?”
“What video should I create this week?”
Other than myself to be blamed, the other
culprit for my indecision is the freedom of
choice.
In today’s world we have freedom of choice
to live how we want to live. To buy what we
want to buy. Having tons of choices, it seems
like the best thing in the world. But is it
really good for us? We all have the perception
that having options, we can choose to have
a better life or at least, make it easier
for us to make decisions.
However, it's also this abundance of choice
that causes us to suffer from dissatisfaction
and indecision. And that’s The Paradox of
Choice.
It’s a phrase coined by a psychologist,
Barry Schwartz. And what The Paradox of Choice
means is while we consider having an endless
array of choices as a fortunate thing to have,
simultaneously, having options causes distress,
which makes it challenging for us to make
decisions.
We are living in a world where most of us
are fortunate enough to have choices. But
with these never-ending options it doesn’t
empower us to make better decisions. What’s
even worse is, it creates 3 issues.
First, Analysis Paralysis.
We are responsible for the decisions we make
and sometimes these responsibilities seem
to paralyze our actions. Especially those
critical decisions that will affect our lives
to a considerable extent, for instance, making
the right investment, or choosing the right
house.
The more options we have, the more likely
we will make a mistake.
That also gave me a burden to think twice
before making the right decision. Taking some
time and effort to make sure my decision is
smart and wise, I mean that’s sound right,
but it became an issue when there are too
many options and the research and knowledge
cause inaction. We are so overwhelmed with
choices to a point where we can't make the
next move because we are afraid that it’s
a wrong decision and we fear of foregoing
a better opportunity.
Another issue of having an abundance of choice
is Buyer Remorse. The more options we have,
the less satisfaction we get from our decision.
Suppose if we have the opportunity to choose
between 1 out of 2 of your dream vacations,
but after we made the decision, we don't feel
as good as what we expected to feel. And that's
buyer remorse. Whenever we have to decide
between choices, we might gain what we chose,
but we also experience the feeling of loss
when we pass out on the other opportunities.
This opportunity cost causes us to feel less
satisfied with what we chose. We will always
wonder what would happen if we decided this
instead of that because we are forever curious
about the unknown.
Also, the fact that we have multiple choices
also raises our expectation. That also make
less satisfied with the outcome
"Nothing good happens after 2 am".
With more choices, the more brain juice we
need to make decisions.
I have to say, making decisions is one taxing
process we have to encounter every day, we
can live like the robot without having to
make any decision, but what's the fun of it
if life is like this. Yet having too many
options drains the mental energy and that
affects the quality of our decision.
After a long day of making choices for our
work, finance, relationship or even daily
menial chores. Our mental energy depletes
overtime and our quality of decision decrease
as the more decision we have to make, and
that’s the reason why said: "nothing good
happens after 2 am". Because we might make
bad decisions But that can also happen to
us anytime if we waste our brain energy on
insignificant decision making.
So obviously, minimalism is one of the best
solutions we can use to counter the issue
we face from the paradox of choice and let
me show you how with 8 simple steps.
Declutter as many decision as possible.
It's as if we can't talk about minimalism
without mentioning about decluttering. Decluttering
can be a great way to remove everyday choices
we have to make. Having minimal but yet sufficient
stuff. We don't have to decide which pen to
use if we only have 1 selection. We don't
have to worry about what to wear if we always
have a standard.
Declutter unwanted choices can lessen the
decision fatigue caused by the menial task.
•Have a routine
There's a reason why we won't waste much energy
in the morning when we are brushing teeth
or making a coffee because they are structured
in our life as a routine. It just automates
itself as a habit, and we never have to think
about it. There's no need for us to analyze
how to brush our teeth or how to make a coffee
unless we have different types of toothbrush
or different coffee beans to choose from.
Then maybe you should declutter them.
Having a capsule wardrobe or having a uniform
can also minimize the effort we need to choose
what we should wear every day.
If some of our daily decisions can be changed
into a routine, that can save us mental energy
that can be used on more important decisions.
Yes, next is define what's your important
decision.
We will all have to make decisions every day,
but not all of them are significant enough
for us to put in so much effort and time into
it.
Not all of them are as crucial in our lives.
If they can be structured as a habit, automate
it. If not, we need to set a limit for it.
Our time is one of the most valuable resources,
so don't overspend it on researching and decision-making.
Set a deadline for your decision-making process.
Once the time is up, make a decision no matter
how unsure you are because no matter how much
more research you will make, it will just
make the decision harder to make. Not to mention
the dissatisfaction from over-analyzing. Other
than time limitation, we can also have a financial
threshold, if it doesn't cost more than (this
amount), don't waste time on it. Your time
probably costs more than that.
•If you are still stuck, you might want
to look for objective feedback. That might
help you clear the fog from your paralysis.
The one I always go to is my girlfriend, and
her suggestion will always put me into a perspective
where I can make a decision. That happens
a lot when I need to choose my thumbnail for
my video. Sometimes my final choice might
not be what she chose, but it makes me realize
that I prefer the other option.
Understanding ourselves and know what we want
to achieve out of the decision we made, and
allow us to have a direction to pursue instead
of being indecisive. That's when the extensive
research is helpful. It helps us to gain information
on what's right for us and support us to make
swift decisions that align with our value.
For example, if being financial prudence is
our priority, the price and the product has
to align with our preference. If we value
less waste, finding the best eco-friendly
option will be the key to decision making.
Before we continue, I'd like to thank the
sponsor for today, Skillshare.
If you still don’t know about Skillshare,
they are an online community that offer thousands
of classes for curious learners like you.
They have a wide range of classes and I’ve
been trying to learn as much as possible from
different classes every day from skillshare.
At least 30 mins every day and I’ve gone
through classes like storytelling, animation,
copywriting and productivity.
I know you guys are always interested in learning
more about less, and topics surrounding minimalism.
I'd like to recommend a class by Greg Mckeown
the author of the book Essentialism. And the
name of the class is “Simple Productivity
How to accomplish more with less”. During
this class, Greg shares the key points on
Essentialism.
And helps you to identify what’s important
and learn practical tactics on how to say
no to distraction in your life, so we can
accomplish more with less. And maybe removing
paradox of choices in our life.
Skillshare is really affordable with an annual
subscription fee of less than $10 every month.
If you are interested, the first 1000 of you
who use the link at the description below
will get a 2 month free trial of the Premium
Membership.
•It's fine to be imperfect.
Like Wabi-sabi. Imperfection might not be
as bad as we think. Being a perfectionist
might be a suffering because nothing can be
perfect. No matter how much we search for
the best, long-lasting products, things wear
and tear, upgrades are constantly releasing.
There will always be better options. There's
no one best choice, but what is important
is the choice that can fit you most.
Lastly appreciate your decision you made.
Even in the future when you realized that
it is a mistake, be appreciative that you
are fortunate enough to have a choice and
no point dwelling onto the past. And feeling
regret can't change anything.
If we always want to maximize our options,
we will always stuck in a rabbit hole of a
never-ending search for the best.
We can't deny that having choices is good
for us, because we have options that fit different
types of people. Since there's no one-size-fits-all
solution, and everyone has different needs.
At the end of the day, we still have to face
the fact that the more choices we have, the
more time we spend on researching, the more
challenging it is for us to make wise decisions
and the decrease in satisfaction even after
we made the “best” decision.
I hope this video can make you aware of this
paradox of choice and maybe you can choose
less and be happier. And if you are here for
the first time, do check out my other minimalism
and self-development videos on this channel.
If you’d like to support this channel, you
can help me with the like button to help with
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I’ll keep you guys updated. I have a Patreon
link at the description below that's the place
where I post an extended version of this video,
and other exclusive videos over there and
that can also keep this channel going and
I truly appreciate that. Thanks for watching
this and i'll see you guys on 
the next one!
