Choices

We are plagued with making so many product choices these days. Taken individually they are nothing, but combined they could be problematic. What to pick, what to pay, and then the dreaded What If! What if you don’t like it? You have wasted your money on that choice, and your time in making it. Or, what if you LOVE it and find out it is only a seasonal item and you will NEVER be able to have it again.

Bread, a basic staple, used to be easy to buy. There was white and brown. Period. You chose Butternut, Manor or Wonder in your color and that was it.

Breakfast cereal is a simple concept, a simple food. But the cereal aisle at the store is endless. I remember having like 4 choices; Cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Wheaties, and Cheerios. Now there are still those same grain choices in dozens of varieties/blends/flavors. It is like a trip to a research library to pick just the right one.


Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, 7UP, Orange or Grape. That was the lineup in pop choices. If only it were still that simple. Do you chose your favorite with added flavors or without, with caffeine of without, with sugar or without, with antioxidants and herbs or without? What could be next?

Used to be there was Folgers and Maxwell House coffee on the shelf. You didn’t get to pick your roast, there were no flavors added. Coffee was coffee and everyone had the same stuff.

Even my main staple, peanut butter, used to be simple. Peter Pan, Skippy, or Jiff. Creamy or crunchy. Being Choosy meant I chose Jiff!

Car choices have grown leaps and bounds from the early days of the automobile. We no longer want a car that will just get us from point A to point B. We must choose color, size, accessories, and we have to consider economy, safety, and warranty. Of course the days of having 1 or 2 choices of cars to buy are WAY before my time, but I am sure Henry Ford would be amazed at what car buyers have to go through today to get just the right car!

At the gas pump there was gasoline or diesel. Everybody’s car took the same fuel. The real choice was which gas station to go to. They actually competed for your business with gas price wars!

Even phones and phone service are complex choices to make today. Gone are the days of 1 phone company in your area and limited choices on phones. The phone was wired into the wall and you could choose the desk model, the wall mounted model, or maybe the slim princess model. If you were lucky, you could choose a color, but for the most part there was black. There were no extra features to choose either. People called your number and if you were home, you answered and had a conversation. If you were not home, they had to call you back. And, you didn’t know who was calling before you picked up the receiver. You just had to embrace the mystery and take a chance that it was someone you wanted to talk to.

The list is endless. More choices provide variety to please our palettes and make our lives better, easier, cleaner, even healthier. It can be overwhelming though given that we are a nation on decision overload! Sometimes it nice to just mindlessly get what you need and be happy without having to think about everything.