The blast of commercials for holiday toys and gifts relentlessly blare from television screens, radio and the internet. Choose me! Buy me! Get me! Now!
This time of year which had originated as a time of togetherness and appreciation for what we’ve been blessed with, has become a season of stress and overwhelm. What to do?
Overwhelm occurs when the human brain struggles to adapt fast enough to the increasingly complex environment in which we live.
Historically, human life has been shaped by scarcity and limitation. Our biological brains and instincts are still geared for an environment of lack, whereas we are faced with an overload of choice in western society. This results in mental and emotional overwhelm.
Our minds are overwhelmed for many reasons. We are surrounded by expendable goods, bombarded by information, and paralyzed by the range of choices available to us.
In "The Paradox of Choice" author Barry Schwartz explains how the abundance of choices flood our exhausted brains. We are faced with aisles of cereals, department stores filled with cosmetics, ten-page restaurant menus, and hundreds of cable television stations. It really is overwhelming!
What can you do about it?
I've worked with people who felt they needed to research every possible option, solution or opportunity before making a decision. They feel obligated to explore all their possible choices.
And guess what? They become paralyzed by overwhelm and cannot make a choice, or they worry that one choice may make them miss out on a better one, so nothing gets done!
Here are a few simple (not necessarily easy!) ideas to help you avoid overwhelm:
• Accept that good enough REALLY IS good enough most of the time. Perfection is paralyzing and not a healthy way to live.
•
Recognize how important a choice really is in the big scheme of things.
Choosing the right cereal is not that important; choosing the right
spouse is.
• Don't second-guess yourself.
• Know what criteria are important to you. It will make it easier to eliminate choices.
• Make choices based on what YOU want, not by what others think.
• Rely on knowledgeable friends and reputable consumer resources to help you narrow down choices.
• Don't go to a mega store or giant supermarket when a boutique or neighborhood grocer will do.
• Ask yourself what the consequences of a wrong choice will be: if it’s negligible, don't give the choice much thought.
•
Give yourself a time limit for choices and decide that when the time's
up, you'll make a decision based on the information you have.
Above all, trust your intuition... dare to take risk some of the time!
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