{"id":51149,"date":"2018-04-18T19:45:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T18:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.next-action.co.uk\/?p=51149"},"modified":"2018-04-18T19:47:32","modified_gmt":"2018-04-18T18:47:32","slug":"six-ways-preserve-sanity-world-way-much-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.next-action.co.uk\/2018\/04\/18\/six-ways-preserve-sanity-world-way-much-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Ways to Preserve Your Sanity in a World With Way Too Much Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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True story:<\/p>\n

A few months back, a well-dressed Italian woman in her early sixties walks into a local Sicilian cafe in search of a panettone for Christmas. Having surveyed a ceiling sagging under the weight of dozens of them, suspended from festive ribbons, she tentatively enquires what kinds are available.<\/p>\n

The hipster Italian kid behind the counter looks up from admiring his latest tattoo, and \u2013 with the air of a man who might have done this more than once \u2013 he lists all the available varieties:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe \u2018ave Classico; Pandoro; Frutti di Bosco; Cioccolata; Pera e Cioccolata; Senza Glutine; Vegane; Panetone Verona (only with raisins); Panettone con mixed candied fruits (pineapple, apricot, orange pistachio, no raisins); Pandoro con Limoncello; Pandoro con Cioccolata\u2026, and Classico, Pandoro, and Ciocolata we \u2018ave in mini, medium and large. Other ones only medium and large.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

She looks at the ceiling again, hoping for inspiration. Having grown up in a world where panettone came in one or two varieties, probably from a local bakery, she is clearly dumbfounded by the possibilities.<\/p>\n

After waiting a moment, he asks which she would like.<\/p>\n

\u201cUhm\u2026, I don’t know…., could you tell me what there is again?\u201d<\/p>\n

He is unable to control the almost imperceptible scowl that precedes another run through the list, but he obliges. From his perspective age-wise she is near death, and it is the compassionate thing to do.<\/p>\n

When he finishes the second time, she is clearly no closer to deciding. Finally – in desperation – she blurts out ‘Tradizionale’. That wasn\u2019t on his list as an option, but the kid is no dope so he hands her a \u2018Classico\u2019 and takes her money before she can change her mind.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the dixies, or teenies, or whatever we are calling the current decade. From coffees to Kitkats, we have way too much choice. It\u2019s everywhere.<\/p>\n

For example, movies. Growing up in the 70s in a mid-size city out on the prairies, if I wanted to watch a movie I had 10 choices max, and once I\u2019d filtered for genre I was likely down to two to four choices. From there, after cross-referencing with the preference of whomever I was going with and the geography of local movie theatres, landing on what to watch was relatively easy.<\/p>\n

No more. Today, with Netflix or Amazon (or both) I have pretty much every movie ever made at my fingertips, and the geographic filter has fallen away entirely. Guess what? I watch a lot fewer movies than I used to. The decision-making process takes longer than some movies. Same with music. Unless a particular song is calling my name, the selection has become so vast that I prefer to close the app and read a book.<\/p>\n

Travel too. Over lunch the other day, a colleague \u2013 square-eyed and slightly desperate from looking at travel websites all weekend \u2013 complained about precisely this phenomenon: \u201cIf you can go anywhere and do anything, it doesn\u2019t make it easy to choose, does it?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is true in pretty much every domain, and certainly in the domain of choosing what we want to do next. There are waaaaaaay too many possibilities, and it is easy to become overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

Before getting stuck into solutions, it is worth acknowledging that all of this is a blessing. It hasn\u2019t always been like this, and it still isn\u2019t this way for much of the world. But it has definitely become a blessing of the \u2018mixed\u2019 variety for those living in it, day-in, day-out.<\/p>\n

So, how to manage ourselves with all this choice?<\/p>\n

First, I think we have to say \u2018no\u2019 much more often than we currently do. And probably much more vehemently than we currently do, so that people around us actually get it. If you are overwhelmed by how much you have on, who do you think is responsible for that? Hint: it is not your boss, your partner, the government or Netflix.<\/p>\n

If all you do in your work with us is get clear on how much you have your plate already, I guarantee you that you\u2019ll say \u2018no\u2019 more often than if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve said yes to.<\/p>\n

If we get more granular, one of the ways we can say \u2018no\u2019 more is by simply Clarifying and Organising our \u2018stuff\u2019 more ruthlessly.<\/p>\n

Some ways to say \u2018no\u2019 in that process:<\/p>\n