The Paralysis of Choice

Have you ever had a tough time making a choice?

I have and I’m sure you have as well.  Making choices is something we do everyday, but there are times when making them is tough going.

I’m reading  Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen on my Amazon Kindle 2 and was struck by this quote about choice:

The Germans have an expression, “Whoever has choice, has torment.”

Hagen is making the broader point that choices represent the potential for further confusion, one of the possible means behind the Sanskrit word, ‘duhkha.’

Duhkah is the pain and suffering many reference works on Buddhism cite as how the Buddha described the human condition.

In reading this book, I was reminded of several experiences that underscored how choice often results in paralysis or difficulty in making a choice.woman shopping for shoes

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Initial Thoughts on My Amazon Kindle 2

Two Thumbs, Way Up!
I have to admit I was initially skeptical about the eReaders that began flooding the market a few years ago.
The first one I held and played with was Sony’s eReader.  Then an acquaintance, (actually, Ex #1’s husband) got a Kindle and I saw it in action. The clarity was interesting but [...]

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Finding the Balance Is Hard Work

Do you lead a balanced life?
I do not.
Well, let me rephrase that.  I do when I work at it.
Most of the time, instead of living one, I tend to be seeking to live a balanced life.
Maybe leading a balanced life is like being enlightened – a moment-by-moment choice.
To me, a balance life is one [...]

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Stress: It’s How You Respond That Counts

When life gets chaotic, I can get caught up in the drama.
But the drama only leads to a higher blood pressure readings in my doctor’s office, the addition of yet more chemicals to my daily regimen.
Instead of additional chemicals, what I’d rather have happen is be able to handle my stress in a more [...]

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Being Single – 7 Years In

I’ve been single for 7 years now.
Over the course of those years I’ve always said I would never consider getting married again.
And while this is NOT a reversal of that position, I believe I’m softening on the issue.I am near the point where I can view marriage as something positive. That hasn’t been part [...]

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Parenting a Teen: LE Grows Up…But Into What?

“LE’s really growing up, isn’t he?”

A former colleague and mastermind buddy emailed me a week or so ago. She’d seen this video and commented on LE’s vertical growth, his deepening voice, and his overall physical maturity.
“Yes,” I countered in a reply…”but into what?”
The Metamorphosis of Attitude
Along with the metamorphosis of physical attributes that accompanies [...]

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Goal Setting for 2010

Have you set any goals for 2010?
Back when I taught a Student Success college course, the first lecture was always dedicated to the importance of goal setting.
I could easily summarize that first lecture by stating three important points:

Limit yourself to three important goals to work on this year.
Work on only your first goal for 90 [...]

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Solo-Dad & Newton’s Apple

Single dads look for love.
But finding it isn’t always easy.
It’s been said that the harder you look for something, the more difficult it is to find.  I believe that. Looking for love is often just this way.
We scurry from bar to bar, club to club, date to date and always [...]

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Thanksgiving Flashback – A Year Ago on Solo-Dad

Last year, LE was with his mom on Thanksgiving Day.
In an effort to prove that ’sitting around and moping while your kids are with the other parent’ isn’t the only alternative for solo-dads, I Twittered my day and then blogged about here it a few days later.
Here’s a snippet (read the full post here):
It reminded [...]

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A Solo-Dad Birthday

Today is my 52nd birthday.
I was born at 8:00 a.m. in Savannah, Tennessee. In 1957 I was the first baby delivered via Caesarian section in Hardin County General Hospital.
I’m told my maternal grandfather raised hell and barged into the nursery because I was crying. In those days, dads didn’t witness their children’s birth [...]

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