The Negative Implications of Choice
We tend to think of choices as positive things, and most of the time they are.
But if you’ve spent any time in the toothpaste or shampoo aisle, you will understand that too many choices can cause distress.
I stood in the toothpaste aisle at Target over the weekend and watched another woman look at all of her options to decide which one is best.
I was doing the same thing.
I looked at her and said, “It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?” and with exasperation she said, “It is! I just need some toothpaste! There are too many choices.”
And she’s right. There are way too many choices. Here are the results of a few quick internet searches for toothpaste:
Target: 172 results
Walgreens: 228 results
Amazon: 30,000 results
Thirty. Thousand. Results.
FOR TOOTHPASTE.
And this is just one very small decision that we need to make in a typical month.
When you add in the hundreds (thousands?) of choices we make each month from where to get our haircut (there are 106 salons near me) to where to go for dinner (there are 314 restaurants near me) to what movie to watch on Netflix (there are thousands to choose from), it’s possible that your next decision may be determining which blood pressure medicine to take (there are 11 different classes of medication and over 81 different name brands).
It’s all too much.
Truthfully, any of the toothpaste option will probably suffice, but we dedicate an excessive amount of time every month deciding which is more important: fighting gingivitis, having fresh breath, whitening our pearly grays, or fighting cavities.
We find ourselves paralyzed in Aisle 10. And we still need to head to Aisle 11 for shampoo.
“There are no safe choices. Only other choices.”
Libba Bray, A Great and Terrible Beauty
We each have many responsibilities and we need to learn to discriminate between important choices and unimportant ones. Selecting your family doctor is important. Purchasing a home is important. Choosing a life partner is important.
Choosing between “moisturizing” or “deep cleansing” shampoo isn’t a life altering decision.
I don’t have the answer to this paradox of choice, but I do know that we all need to relax and stop making every decision seem so vital to the future of humanity.
If you can support a local business over a chain, do it.
If you can reduce the amount of plastic you use, do it.
If you can support a local farmer, do it.
But if you are choosing between Honeycrisp Apple or Lavender scented hand cream, it may be time to just let go.
Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash
