The freedom in commitment
The modern world offers such a wealth of options that it has produced a fear of commitment.
We spend a lot of our time making decisions, or rather weighing options and prolonging a decision.
It has a name: the choice overload problem. You probably know it as analysis paralysis.
The retail industry has seen the benefit of reducing the number of choices.
When Procter & Gamble went from 26 different kinds of Head & Shoulders to 15, they saw an increase in sales by 10 percent. When the Golden Cat Corporation got rid of their 10 worst-selling cat litter products, they saw an increase in profits by 87 percent.
The average grocery store offers you 45,000 products, but the ninth biggest retailer in the world is Aldi, and it offers you only 1,400 products, and only one kind of canned tomato sauce.
When Cotsco reduced their number of choices, they actually saw an increase in sales.
Americans think that choice is an objective thing. It's not. It's a very subjective thing.
Choice is learned, and it can work differently in different cultures.
The value of choice depends on our ability to perceive differences between the options.
When there are too many choices to compare and contrast, instead of making better choices, we become overwhelmed by choice, sometimes even afraid of it.
What’s the difference between an easy choice and a hard choice?
An easy choice is when one alternative is better than another.
A hard choice is when one alternative is better in some ways. And neither is better than the other overall.
A choice is hard because there is no best option.
This is where commitment becomes crucial.
Commitment means you bring 100% and you create your reason for yourself to pursue that option. When you commit to something, you create your own identity. You make yourself into who you are.
When you decide on one option, you are cutting off all other options. The latin root in decision (caedere) is the same as the root in scissors. You are literally cutting off other options.
Photo by Markus Winkler
It is counter-intuitive. We think that by eliminating all other options we somehow limit our freedom, but it is precisely in committing fully to one and cutting off all the others that we find incredible freedom.
Where in your life are you facing a choice, and where do you know you need to COMMIT?
Stop weighing the pros and cons.
This is the difference between a consumption mentality and commitment.
Choose one, and be all in. No looking back.
Create your own identity and decide what your commitment means to you.
Experience the freedom commitment brings.
