Is this what's making you anxious?

The world we live in offers us more choice then ever before. Is this good or bad for us?

When studying for my masters I had to buy a pack of pencils for my exams. I thought this would be a simple job. Here's how I saw it going... go into the shop, see pencils, buy them and leave. However, my pencil purchasing experience didn't quite go like that.

When I got to the shop there were over 20 different types of pencils. What on earth is that about? A pencil is a pencil, it writes and that's it. But seeing so many got me thinking, maybe I need the flexi-grip or maybe I need the one with extra fine gliding control?

It was absolutely ridiculous!

I noticed myself getting caught up in the madness and decided it was a game I wasn't going to play. So I picked up the most bog standard pack I could find and walked out of the shop. So there.

There is now so much competition for our business that we've reached a point of too much choice. Lot's of choice can leave us feeling overwhelmed and creates a need to get things right. It's no surprise that anxiety and perfectionism are now such a big problem.

How can we deal with it?

Don't buy into it. Limit your choices. Let go of expectations and take back control of your inner zen.

I saw a great TED talk a few years ago by Barry Schwartz called The Paradox of Choice that covers this topic in more depth. If you're a productivity geek like me you can check it out here:  https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice?language=en

Big love,

Jon