Tuesday, November 21, 2006
choices
We are not a happy people. We grump around our lives complaining when someone cuts us off in traffic, when the person in front of us takes too long to pay for their groceries, when we can't buy the thing that we need RIGHT now (Sony Playstation anyone?). What is wrong with us? We have the highest standard of living, the most disposable income and yet people seem overall, disastisfied. I think it comes down to choices. We have too many. Every day we have to make too many decisions. Take coffee for instance. Used to be you just had a cup of coffee and you paid your money. Basic. Cream and sugar optional. NOW?Tall, skinny, grande, macchiato, French Vanilla, espresso, Frap-puccino, latte, capuccino and on and on. It dazzles the mind all the choices. Walk into any Staples and you don't just have pens and pencils and papers anymore. There are whole aisles devoted to the simple ball point pen - or rather ball point or gel or fountain pen and many variations of each of those. Maybe you should get a magazine to help you relax. Right. Check out any magazine aisle in any grocery store or drugstore and once again an avalanche of choices awaits you. Groceries, clothing, shoes, computers, phones - too many choices. We get confused and disoriented and then, in spite of the abundance in front of us, we get grumpy because we get afraid that somehow, somewhere a better pen, a tastier cup of coffee, a nicer vehicle awaits us. We might have made the wrong choice!
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4 comments:
I think you're right. There's too much choice. To me it adds to stress. I can't even shop for long in any store. Sensory overload takes hold and makes me feel panicky. I know the abundance we live in contributes to this, but sometimes I prefer small shops where they don't have a huge selection. It makes the experience calmer for me.
And always waiting to get the latest--especially in technology-- would be an exercise in futility. There is something new almost every day.
So to do my part, I try to use the same products, keep things until they really wear out, not change fashion. And avoid stories and places that have too much.
I don't guess we'll ever go back to less cluttered, hectic days, but I'm doing my best to stay there!
Add shopping with four kids and you've got one don't right CRANKY and confused momma who comes home with at least one thing she didn't put in the shopping cart!
The Paradox of choice
I agree, way too much choice and decisions to made all the time.
and guess what, there's plenty of books to choose from
that discuss it!
Yep. This is what I have thought for years. We need to go back to just vanilla and chocolate . . . and maybe strawberry . . . and Moose Tracks . . . Chunky Monkey . . . *sigh*
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