I read the most interesting thought about making decisions the other day...
While reading a
Vanity Fair article written by Michael Lewis (author of
Moneyball, among many others), I came across what President Obama has to say about the smaller decisions of day-to-day life while being The President:
"'You'll see I only wear gray or blue suits,' he said. 'I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.' He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one's ability to make further decisions. It's why shopping is so exhausting."You need to focus on your decision-making energy. You need to routine yourself. You can't be going through the day distracted by trivia.'"
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I found this so eye opening. Of course I am not going to give up shopping (obviously!), but it does make me stop and think about what I spend my time and energy thinking about. For someone that over thinks even the smallest decisions, and even still agonizes over what could have been AFTER the decision has been made, the realization of how draining this is (I forget how much energy it takes!) is an important one.
So my simple idea
is this. Maybe I could shop less by buying more at one time. Not a
dress here, a pair of pants the next week, and so on. Instead, I could
think about what I need for the two or three months (or six!?) and spend one
day shopping for it. Then, I wear what is in my closet, and that's
that. It's a thought!
Very interesting! I always say if I don't care that much, let someone else decide. Then I can save my decision-making strength for when it really matters to me.
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