Why Too Many Choices Can Cause Suffering

options-396267_640All too often, unlimited choice is heralded as the height of freedom to which all must aspire. However, it is often forgotten that when overwhelmed by choices, a person also faces the possibility of making bad decisions. This can consequently lead to anxiety, stress and dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the person starts to spend too much time on trivial choices or faces the exhaustion of constantly making choices based on whim and random desires.

That is why it is good that there be rules, moral standards and routines in life. They naturally serve to constrain people and limit their decisions. By relying on these social constraints, life becomes more manageable. People can devote more time to other people. They can learn to face the important decisions which must be addressed and discard those that are trivial and unimportant.



Thus, limitations serve the good purpose of helping a person connect with reality. They keep a person from developing unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, unlimited choice can actually produce genuine suffering, disappointments and failures. It can adversely affect consumption, relationships and jobs. Finally, it has repercussions on all society, since an economy based on the frenetic intemperance of unlimited choices will necessarily throw all society out of balance and lead to great social problems and chaos.