Choice paralysis
I said somewhere else that I'm really really hungry, and just fancying everything, and because of that I can't make a decision so am not yet eating anything๐
Anyone else get stuck like that? Don't get me started on how many options there are on TV and how I spend more time scrolling through ideas to watch than I do actually watching anything
Bonus hearts for anyone who can make the decision for me and pick me something to eat โค๏ธ
Comments
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Ahhh, good old choice paralysis, I know it well, especially when it comes to painting!
I often triage things into order of importance, or want. Then when I'm down to a couple of options, I turn to a very scientific way of doing things; A series of coin tosses. ๐3 -
Sounds familiar! I have some dietary requirements so I usually don't have many food options available if I'm out and about. On the rare occasion where I find myself somewhere with more than one thing on the menu, I break ๐
I once spent at least 30 minutes staring at the menu of a gluten free bakery because I just couldn't make a decision. I was away on holiday it seemed like the most important choice as I wouldn't be able to just pop back and try something else. Eventually got so overwhelmed I had to go and sit outside while someone else picked for me!
What's on the snack menu? Maybe we can cast votes ๐
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I just eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch. No choice to make there! ๐
I don't have any TV extras either, so just limited to the Freeview channels. Sometimes there are two things I want to watch at the same time, but I can quickly check whether one could be watched an hour later on a +1 channel, so that helps make that decision!
I also just listen to the radio, or use Spotify on shuffle, so I don't have to make decisions about music selection.
When I do have to make a choice over something, I try to remove all emotion from it, in order to see the practical pros & cons as clearly as possible. And often then put it off until I'm forced to make a choice one way or the other due to time restraints. ๐
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I rarely watch tv as I find most of it to be rubbish, I certainly wouldn't pay money for added rubbish! I must be turning into one of 'The Old Gits' from Harry Enfield and Chums.
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It sounds like something I read about called Fredkin's Paradox
The more equal the outcomes of two options, the less the decision actually matters, yet the more effort we put into deciding between them
There's another concept about how we devote more time to trivial debates because they feel "safer". The psychologist used an example that a committee would put more planning into debating the design of the bike shed at a nuclear reactor site than the reactor itself.
I don't know if that second one is just about committees/debates or if it applies to "debates" in your own head too
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Yes I get like that over food and TV channels
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Better than my way, which is to give up and not pick anything, or if it's what to watch for example I will just rewatch something I already know rather than have to pick something new ๐ I'm going to try using a coin!!
@Rosie_Scope what did you get from the bakery in the end?? I imagine it's hard when you don't often get a choice to be presented with loads of options - I'd have been tempted to buy everything and take it back with me
@OverlyAnxious, I use spotify shuffle or radio for music for this same reason! What is your repeat breakfast and lunch each day? x
@Chris75_ I probably shouldn't share how many streaming services I'm signed up to with you ๐ฅI often sign up to a free trial because there's a single show I really want to watch and then can't find a way to cancel it without calling so get left with a bazillion subscriptions! Although most companies are getting better with making it possible to cancel online now so I really should get round to it
that's really interesting and makes perfect sense! Ultimately I know the decision doesn't matter at all but I spend far too long worrying about making it ๐
I'm glad someone can relate @Amberpearl!! how do you usually decide?
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Just in case you (or anyone) didn't realise, as it took me a second!!
When they refer to a decision that "doesn't matter" they don't actually necessarily mean it's a decision about something trivial, what they mean is the options are so similar you could just pick either
A brilliant (but very horrible and sad) example is in the film Schindler's list. A woman on the way to a concentration camp is told by a sadistic guard that she can only keep one of her two children, and is forced at gunpoint to choose one. As her children are completely equal to her, she may as well just make the decision at random (which is what she ends up doing when the guard threatens to shoot). It doesn't mean the decision is about something that doesn't matter, in fact it's probably the single most important thing in her lifeโฆ it's just the outcome that has equal value regardless of which of the options is chosen
Hope that makes sense to anyone who didn't get it๐
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@Biblioklept The shop specialised in bagels so I had a savoury everything bagel with chive cream cheese, a sweet bagel with strawberries in it and something else that I can't quite remember! Possibly a cake of some kind. Very tasty anyway once I'd got over feeling silly about not being able to choose ๐
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