Have you ever caught yourself saying, “It’s just too hard to make a decision”?

Perhaps you find yourself paralyzed when it comes to making even small decisions in your everyday life.

The problem may not be that you can’t make a decision. Rather, it’s that there are way too many options available. In the modern world, you are flooded with dozens of options for even very small choices.

That excess is aptly reflected in a trip to the grocery store. In the cereal aisle, for example, you have a dozen or more brands to select from. The same goes for the beverages. And don’t even get started with water—flavored, unflavored, distilled, filtered, alkaline, with bubbles, etc.

It just goes to show that there are so many choices, the excess can actually cause anxiety.

That’s why, to boost your happiness, consider these five ideas when you’re faced with just too many choices.

1. Avoid Hemming and Hawing

One way to boost happiness when faced with the anxiety of excess is to avoid deliberating over small choices.

For example, let’s say that you want to pick up a quick lunch during your break. You pull out your phone to find that there are 8-10 highly-rated restaurant options near you. The whole lunch break could fly by if you go back and forth over what to do.

Should you get Thai food? Or perhaps try that new pizza place around the corner? Instead, go with your gut (in this case literally!) and make a choice.

2. Live with No Regrets

Next, it’s important to not have regrets over the decisions you make. If you make a choice and it didn’t work out the way you hoped, don’t keep ruminating on it.

Remember that rumination involves going over and over again what happened in your mind. And thus, it becomes a revolving door with no end.

Rather, seek to learn what happened so that you can make a better choice next time. Perhaps the old saying, “live with no regrets,” should be changed to, “live with no rumination!”

3. Take a Risk

Many people struggle with making the “perfect” decision. Yet, that’s rarely ever possible. In fact, there can be many different outcomes for a situation that works out perfectly fine.

So, the next time you find yourself worrying about making the perfect choice, take a risk!

Make a choice and go for it. If it doesn’t work out, that’s OK. Remember, most of the decisions made in everyday life are not life-or-death type of choices. Understanding that gives you the freedom to try something new and see what happens.

4. Be Realistic

It’s important to keep in mind that, in order to avoid the anxiety that can come from excess choice, be realistic in your expectations. Of course, that doesn’t mean that if you have a dream or goal, not to go for it! However, it also helps to be realistic when setting your goals and making decisions.

So, for example, let’s say that you have always dreamed of being a pilot. That’s great! However, the likelihood you flying a plane solo tomorrow is probably very small. Instead, break down your goal into reasonable steps that enable you to reach the outcome you seek.

In this case, these steps may include:

  • Doing research on flight instruction in your area
  • Visiting a flight school information session
  • Taking a trial flight with an instructor to experience the feel of flying
  • Signing up for flying lessons
  • Doing the work needed to complete a flight training program

This approach helps to reduce your anxiety by creating a decision-making process that allows you to focus on one step at a time.

5. Boost Happiness by Sticking to Your Choices

Once you have made a decision, do your best to move forward with that choice. It can be tempting to look back, doubt yourself, and wonder if you should change your choice. But this only adds to your anxiety over the excess of choice and doesn’t boost happiness.

Naturally, in the future, you might reflect on your choices and say, “I could have done this differently.” However, that’s different than making a decision in the present and then going back on that choice. Trust your instincts and your ability to make decisions!

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It’s very easy to get flooded with anxiety over what seems like an excess of choices for every decision you make in life. The human mind struggles with so many options. However, you can boost your happiness by following the above-mentioned suggestions.

If these don’t seem to work for you, though, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or read more about my approach to anxiety treatment.