The Danger of Choice

This is a public service announcement. There is a danger lurking all about us. It follows us wherever we go and infects our daily lives. Even now, as you read this, you are being infected by it. This danger to our daily lives has a name. That name is choice. That's right, you are in danger from choices. More specifically, too many choices. Be aware and be safe. End of public service announcement...

So, as I sit here, typing away on a grim-encrusted keyboard in a dank, dreary dungeon, away from the warming rays of the sun, I am struck by how much the excess of choices in life can have an almost debilitating effect on a person. Before I go on, don't think for a minute that I abhor choice in any form. Far from it. I think it is a testament to how far society has come that we are afforded the luxury of so many choices. No, my musing is concerned with the sheer volume of choices available today, and how that can negatively influence us.

Let me illustrate my muse with an example from my own life. I am currently attempting to pan my somewhat shaky writing chops into something more productive. The way my mind races, I have innumerable ideas for stories and I feel like it's time to do more than write down idea fragments onto any handy scrap of paper. I have ideas that fill countless napkins, torn sheets of paper, old notebooks, and basically anything else I can write on. Ideas are the easy part. Now comes the decision, the crux of my musing for today. I have to make a choice as to what idea to us and what exactly to write with that idea.

How do I decide? There are good and bad ideas, but all are valid possibilities. If I choose idea A, then what should I write? It would work well as a short story, but a little more work to turn it into something longer. But maybe writing something longer would be a bad thing for idea A. What about a comic? It could work as a comic. I know some extremely talented artists that I could ask to help with art. But how do I go about writing a comic? And what about idea B? That one might be a much better comic. Maybe I should explore that idea.

As I sit at the desk, my scraps and papers surrounding me. I begin to feel defeat creeping up my spine. Merely choosing has become a chore unto itself. So many ideas, so many paths to take the idea...My brain balks at the complications. Instead of sitting down, choosing an idea, and running with it, I freeze up at the sheer number of possible options. Rather than being productive, I end up spending a rather absurd amount of time staring at ideas and getting mired in possibilities. Choice, in this case, became a problem. I know this situation is compounded by my personality type. I realize that there are folks in the world that would just grab an idea and run with it, to see where it takes them. Those who are able to just decide and do may not see all of this as an issue. But of all the people I know, there aren't too many folks able to decide at the drop of the hat. The rest of us are left in a quagmire of choice.

My example of my writing process is a microcosm of what I see and experience in the world today. Choosing a restaurant to eat at is as long and difficult a process as brain surgery it seems. Ask a group where they want to go. The chorus of "I don't know", "Wherever is fine with me", and "You pick. I don't care" will give testimony to the difficulties of choice. Wracked by indecision based on the number of choices and the unwillingness to chooses something another may not like leads to long, drawn out decision -making processes that are as exhausting and intense as many jobs.

To me, it seems as though the frequency of options when choosing leads to indecision and frustration, rather than joy at the simple idea that we are able to have so many choices. One would think that an abundance of choices would bring happiness, but I have to say, often times it brings stress and frustration, especially when dealing with group decisions. The number of choices are then compounded by the number of opinions in a group, creating an even greater number of possibilities based on preferences. Yikes, that sounds too much like math...but you get my point. Does it have to do more with tendencies of procrastination? An unwillingness to potentially disappoint someone by making a decision? Or is the sheer volume of choices that we have to make in life actually hurting more than helping?

I don't have any answers here. This was more a musing on the difficulty of choice that I see both in myself and with those around me. To me, at least part of the cause is the sheer number of choices we face. I'm sure there are many factors depending on the person or group, but in the end, choice for me often time is more stressful and difficult than a final in college. Maybe it's time I act more like those go-getters that can just take charge and forge ahead confidently in life. You know, just look at the choices, make a decision and run with it. Life's too short to waste time worrying, right? But what if I end up making a wrong decision? Could I have made an other choice that would have left me better off? Maybe I should go back and look at all the possible options, you know, just to make sure...sigh...so much for that...