Purging: Choices
This week I decided to start work on purging the non-material things, or the mind clutter. The first thing I decided to get rid of might sound odd, but it’s rather simple; I got rid of choices.
Choices really aren’t that great. They present you with a lot of information that you don’t need to know but for one decision, especially when you start nitpicking specific details. Once you start doing that, your one choice turns into many, because now you have to compare and choose between things before you choose one ultimate thing. I know it seems great to have a lot of choices sometimes, but it’s usually only a waste of thinking, and a huge waste of time.
There’s one other reason choices suck, and it’s because you remember your choices even after you make your decision. The more choices you allow yourself to have, the more you risk regret and second guessing yourself after the decision’s made. Think about it: if you went on a trip with a friend to a lake, you’d probably be pretty happy to get away and relax. But what if you found out that your other friends had invited you on a cruise, and you missed the call? Would you still feel good about the decision you made, or would you feel bad about the decision you didnt make?
So there’s a few ways that I got rid of a lot of choices and learned to make quick decisions, and I’m going to list ‘em for you, because as we know, I really like lists.
Define your desired outcome. This is a pretty obvious one, but it’s usually used in business. Try using it in your every day life, from your dinner choices to your weekend plans. It really cuts down on decision making time.
Shop for solutions, not options. If I said “go buy me a medium white t-shirt”, you could probably find, purchase, and deliver one to me quickly. If I said “buy me shoes”, it would probably take a lot longer, because it’s way more open ended. Once you know what you want your outcome to be, your decisions will be like the former, and you’ll start throwing out choices that don’t fit your desired outcome without consideration, making your life way easier.
Be Flexible. It’s better to spend time creatively making a decision work for you than squandering away countless hours debating choices. Just make one and get on with it.
Be Quick. Don’t spend more than 10-20 minutes deliberating choices. If you do, then you’re not finding a solution to your problem, you’re guessing and basically flipping a coin. Rather than researching your choices further, step away from them and research your problem and your desired outcome, then come back to your choices. The right one should stand out fairly quickly.
The best thing about reducing choices is that, short of taking a wrong turn and driving off a cliff, there’s no such thing as a bad one. If you filter out the unsuitable options, you can make any decision work in your favor fairly easy and cut out on a whole bunch of stress and worry.
