The paradox of choice

It all began with the simple exercise of buying a pair of jeans in the mall one day. Nothing out of the ordinary, everyone does it at some point of time or the other in their lives. But then, there were about ten shops in the mall, all selling jeans of every possible variety imaginable, from boot cut to slim fit, from stone washed to classic blue. It took me almost the whole day to dig out the pair I wanted. On my way back home, I thought that buying trousers should not take the whole day! It was down right WRONG!

So the other day I was sipping on my coffee in Barnes and Nobles while my friend was looking for a book to give to his girlfriend. It was there that I came across this book “The paradox of choice”. I am not a big fan of modern bestsellers and so I didn’t stop more than a few seconds. But it put in an indelible and nagging thought at the back of my head. Does the plethora of choices that we are faced with really make things simpler for us?

I was walking down the aisle looking for chocolates and I counted up to fifty seven varieties of chocolates before I lost patience and decided not to go for any. And it is not only me! I have a friend who goes to Mill Avenue (a place near my house where you get food from pretty much all over the world) every Saturday to try “something different” but ultimately ends up in his tried and tested steak joint around the corner. Yet another girl I know said that she goes to her beautician every month and after browsing through all the possible fates that can befall her Rapunzel’s tresses, comes out without doing anything at all.

It is always nice to have choices but when we are flooded with an excess, it not only delays our decisions, it sometimes makes us shut out all the choices altogether. The same applies to relationships as well. There was this lady beside me on plane when I was returning from Florida. She was sixty six years old and was telling me about her husband. They met when they were both thirteen, fell in love and got married at the age of twenty three. Her eyes still light up with love when she speaks of him. When I asked her whether, ever, at any point of time, she felt he was not suitable for her or whether she felt there could have been anyone else, the ideas did not register at all. She was the happiest or rather, the most contented person I have ever met. In today’s world, we expect our partners to be tailor made to match up to our expectations. If one does not fit, we move on to the next. In contrast, the sixty six year old lady shaped her expectations based on the person. I definitely don’t know which way makes more sense but I can see that she is happier than I have ever been.

So does that mean that I will shut myself up from this world of choices and uncertainties? Well, I think the key to dealing with this contentment. As long as I don't compare my situation or experience with others I will be happy with the choice I have made. But easy as it sounds, I belive that it is the most difficult thing to get in this world.......and here there is definitely no choice at all!