Energy & Wellbeing | Decision Paralysis
THE THOUGHT
We live much of life between wanting and doing.
The suitcase lay open like an unfinished sentence. A short three-day trip and the choice between three different outfits, each perfect for a different version of a weekend. The dress that asked for conversation. The sweater that promised comfort. The jeans that refused to try.
But which version of the weekend would come to be?
Each choice a prediction of a moment. A combination of weather and wishful thinking. I stood there, holding nothing, choosing nothing, caught in a paradox of plenty.
Do you know this feeling, the paralysis of choice?
Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile.
THE DIVE
The Weight of Options
Decision paralysis is the struggle to make decisions when confronted with numerous similar options or complex information.
Our brain evaluates choices by comparing predicted outcomes. When options are too similar, this comparison system struggles. Psychologist Sheena Iyengar's jam study demonstrates this perfectly. When offered 6 jam varieties, 30% of people made a purchase. When offered 24 varieties, only 3% bought anything.
It wasn't just the number of choices. The 24 jams included multiple similar varieties that made meaningful comparison nearly impossible.
Neuroscientist Paul Glimcher explains why. The brain doesn't evaluate options one at a time. It runs parallel computations, weighing expected value against cognitive cost. When options cluster around similar values, these processes create interference patterns. Like static on a radio.
Choosing between a $40,000 Honda and a $42,000 Toyota feels harder than choosing between a $20,000 Honda and a $60,000 BMW. Similar options create neural noise.
Historically, deliberating over small differences was dangerous. Better to act quickly than optimize while predators approached. Today we face dozens of nearly identical breakfast cereals, streaming options, or career paths without immediate threat, but our brains still struggle with the overload.
But how do we move from paralysis to action?
THE PRACTICE
Good Enough Solution
When you're stuck between options, stop aiming for perfect. Aim for adequate.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Herbert Simon called this "satisficing." Instead of maximizing every decision, you set a threshold of acceptability and pick the first option that meets it. Here's how to apply it:
Define your minimum criteria. What does "good enough" look like? Fast commute? Under budget? Decent reviews? Write down three non-negotiables.
Evaluate options in order until one clears your bar. Stop there. Don't keep looking for something better.
Set limits for smaller decisions. Five minutes to pick a restaurant. Two minutes for a Netflix show. When time expires, go with your best current option.
Reduce your field. Eliminate obviously poor choices before you start. Cut options that clearly don't meet basic requirements.
Use constraints. Budget limits, availability, or location can narrow choices for you.
Having more choices often makes us less free. The goal is to preserve mental energy for decisions that genuinely matter
Sometimes the dress turns out to be too formal, the sweater too warm, the jeans just wrong. But what great adventure was ever predictable?