The Affliction of Abundance: FOBO or the Fear of a Better Option

American psychologist, Barry Schwartz wrote “The Paradox of Choice” almost a decade ago. In this book he analyses the behavior of different types of people, ones he calls maximisers and satisfiers facing abundance of choice. He also makes a point that demonstrates how the exponential explosion in choice has paradoxically become a problem instead of... See more

Many otherwise smart and well-adjusted people have talked themselves into being the Ebenezer Scrooge of optionality, always hoarding the ability to do something later, never actually doing anything when “later” arrives, and giving up a lot in the process.

This is choice paralysis. Previous generations didn’t have many options so they stuck together through hard times and made it work. Now, abundance (or its illusion) has led people to feel less satisfied. People are now more anxious about making a choice and less certain that the one they made was correct.

Simplicity is difficult because most of us are overcompensating for uncertainty. Adding something is easy. But removing something is hard, because it requires conviction. It’s easier to hedge against uncertainty, entertain multiple paths, and dilute your focus than to develop a strong opinion about what to exclude.