Is choice good?

I watched The Wright Stuff this morning and they were discussing whether having too much choice is good for you. I was surprised to find out that phycologists shared my view- basically it's not!

I'm not one for reverting to a communist state, but on more than one occassion the entire contents of my wardrobe has been unceremoniously tossed on the bed in exasperation. On such stressful mornings I can't help but think we all need a uniform then they'd be one less thing to worry about!

I distinctly remember my time as a 6th former sat in the library leafing through huge tomes filled with every possible university course in the country. I was left wondering whether landscape gardener or dentist was more my cup of tea.... oh and then I'd spot small animal care and my whole decision making process would be thrown into disarray.

The thing is we have too much choice, and we mistake it as freedom. It's what distinctly seperates the first world from the third. The opportunity to buy more stuff then we could ever want or need, and the possibility of taking one's life in an infinite number of directions seems to be a necessity in our modern society and we have embraced it with vigour. The thing is does it make us happy?

As I sat in the library I remember worrying myself silly. What if I made the wrong choice? This could be the defining moment in the crossroads of my life. I plugged for theatre, but would small animal care have made me happier? You definitely get to squeeze lots of guinea pigs and what could be better than that?!

Think of a box of chocolates, not the Forest Gump one; but an actual one. When it's full the choice is overwhelming. We change our minds a hundred times before plugging for the hazelnut one. What if there were only three chocolates.... hold on this is a ridiculously bad analogy...  who am I kidding? I'd eat the whole box and the three after that too. What I'm saying is ... take the cereal aisle in a megasized supermarket as an example. Does standing there choosing between a hundred different brands of cereal make you happy? If they only had cornflakes would you buy them and just get on with the rest of your life?

I'm convinced choice isn't freedom. At best it gives you a sense of power over your own destiny. At worst it brings doubt and dissatisfaction. 

I'm doing my best to battle through the overwhelming choices in my life, but I'm really beginning to believe that less is most definitely more.