The ubiquity of choice, isn't that what we all want? Or is it just one more daily challenge?

Going to a supermarket can be a demanding task. Apparently this is a dreamland for choice. Which could easily become a nightmare. Maybe we were standing in front of a shelf with lots of laundry detergents or dozens of  teas or a multitude of different bread types one time? We may have felt overwhelmed and nearly paralyzed. Anxiety crept in and the more we tried to be rational and a grown up consumer the colder we felt. Why was it so difficult to choose?

For once there was the risk to make the wrong choice. We went through this many times.  After we picked something and left the store we had the feeling of an irrevocable mistake. Was it really the best choice? How would our friends react if it weren't?
Hardly out of the store we already feel ridiculed. We regret what we bought and blame ourseves for being so rash (although we were anything but). What really gets to us is imagining that we have to go back and discuss an exchange! Everybody will hate us for holding up hardworking people who - unlike ourselves – had made their choices easily. And so we go, on and on.

We try to console ourself by thinking that making choices was a hard thing to do for anyone. Yet if we really search our memory, haven't we seen somebody who went swiftly through the store, picking up something here and there without hesitation before patiently waiting for her turn at the cashier and then leaving like a breath of fresh air? Obviously that person didn't have any of our qualms. She knew what she wanted and got it. She probably also wasn't in need of a 'perfect' choice.

On our way home we ponder change.

One simple thing that we can do immediately is to prepare ourself beforehand. Make a list of what we are going to buy and why: stick with what comes up and free ourselves from the onslaught of advertising and product 'information'. We have a clear intention now. In case we indeed need more information about some item consider asking somebody we know and trust. Understand the difference between information and noise. The former serves us while the latter takes our energy and time.

Making choices every day might be a challenge, but what about choosing the right challenge for 30 Day Groove? Since we want to stick with it for 30 days, we naturally want to take the right option. Yet we also want to stay relaxed and not get into a similar scenario as decribed above.

Maybe this helps:

• does it contribute to our personal life?
• choosing becomes simple when we listen inside instead of being carried away: what feels good? Really good?
• give it a fair chance.
• nothing is instant besides luck (which was probably in preparation for a long time).
• get involved, investigate.
• lower our expectations and accept the possibility of pleasant surprises!

Make the challenge of choice a supportive asset in our life! It's a relief.