The Tyranny of Choice

Minimalism is a movement that encourages and helps people to live with less. The Minimalists says, "Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom."

That's all nonsense. Our possessions aren't slave masters.

Aren't they? My car needs fixing, and it can cause me to be worried and anxious. Even when it's running well, I might feel concerned about taking a long trip. Cars need maintenance, as do swimming pools and lawns and the mowers that maintain them.

But this post isn't really about the possessions themselves.

It's about the choices we make about them.

* * *

I read an interesting book recently, titled The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz. It takes a look at the psychology surrounding our ability to make choices in a culture that seems to have gorged itself on choice. Think about the last time you went grocery shopping. Did you need cereal? How many options were there?

If you live in suburbia, first of all, you probably have several choices for the store itself. I could drive less than ten minutes in any direction to shop in six different grocery stores. In the cereal aisle, I can choose generic brands or big name brands. I can choose sugary cereals, or I can be more responsible. I can choose organic. I can choose wheat-based or gluten-free. I can choose cold cereal or hot, and then I have the option of oatmeal -- steel-cut, Irish, or instant -- or farina. If I wasn't the kind of person that always chooses the same thing, I could spend forty minutes in the cereal aisle!

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists have it right after all: we come away feeling overwhelmed.

Groceries are fairly innocuous, but what about the other choices we have to make? Choosing a doctor can be fairly stressful, especially when you have a chronic disease and need to see that doctor often. Choosing a mate often includes years of dating different people, rejecting and feeling rejected, until you finally settle on The One, or perhaps you never do. Choosing a career can leave us feeling paralyzed: what am I good at and how much will I earn and will I even be able to find work?

A hundred years ago, young people didn't have many choices for what career they would pursue. Women didn't have many choices at all, but even men often went in the same direction as their fathers. Dad was a carpenter? You'd be a carpenter. Dad worked in the mine? You worked in the mine. Dad was a small town doctor,? You went to medical school and came back to take over the practice.

But how boring, you say. How awful that they couldn't choose for themselves! To live a life burdened by a job you didn't love!

Do you love your job? You chose it, didn't you? You chose the college and the major and the career path and this particular job offer. The fact that you were able to make your own choices isn't a guarantee of job satisfaction.

What does it mean to live a minimalist life? Over the next several weeks, we'll explore it a bit more. Stay tuned!