"I'll start on Monday." Your Mind Jammed on Options

Let's research our options.

Ever noticed how the self-improvement journey often feels like you’re walking in circles?

I’ve certainly scratched my head more than once, thinking: why the hell am I so stuck when I know so much?

It doesn’t seem to make much sense, and yet, it totally DOES. Counterintuitive, I know.

But here's a fascinating paradox: the very act of trying to improve ourselves so desperately can be what keeps us stuck.

Let me explain why, and more importantly, what to do instead.

Picture this cycle:

You wake up one day feeling that familiar ache – something in your life isn't working. Maybe it's your job, your relationships, your health. If by any chance you think you don’t have a problem, just scroll social media for a bit, and you’ll find something for sure.

Anyways, that's your initial pain point, your catalyst for change.

So naturally, you do what any modern person would do: you start searching for solutions.

And oh boy, do you find them.

Welcome to the age of infinite options, where everyone's an expert and everyone's got a solution to sell.

Blog posts, YouTube videos, Instagram gurus, LinkedIn thought leaders, Reddit threads, TikTok life hacks – an endless buffet of advice, each promising to be THE answer to your problems.

Your mind, jammed.

Here's where things get interesting (and by interesting, I mean really messy).

This abundance of choice actually paralyzes us. Choosing is mentally exhausting.

It's like the famous "jam experiment" conducted by psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper.

This is how it went:

They set up a jam-tasting booth at a luxury food store, alternating between offering 24 varieties of jam and just 6 varieties.

While the larger display attracted more people, guess which setup led to more actual purchases? The smaller one – by a lot.

When faced with 24 options, only 3% of people bought jam. With 6 options, 30% made a purchase.

Our brains get "jammed" in exactly the same way when facing the self-improvement buffet.

"Should I try meditation? But which type? Or maybe I need to fix my diet first? Or is it my morning routine that needs work? What about that productivity system everyone's talking about?"

So what do we do?

We have a Scarlet O’Hara Moment:

“I can’t think about that right now.

If I do, I’ll go crazy.

I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

~ Scarlett O’Hara

We tell ourselves we need to "think about it." You know, to make an informed decision.

And while we're "thinking," we do what humans naturally do when overwhelmed: we seek comfort.

We scroll through social media (ironically often consuming more self-improvement content), stress-eat, shop online, or dive deeper into the rabbit hole of information consumption.

Each new piece of advice, each new system, each new "must-do" practice adds to the cognitive load.

The pain of trying to figure out what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and in what order becomes greater than the original pain that sparked your improvement journey in the first place.

So you stick with the familiar suck. At least it's a suck you know.

The initial pain that prompted our search gets temporarily numbed, but it's still there, waiting.

The more options we explore, the more we realize how much work change would require.

We need more “less”.

What if the answer isn't in the latest self-help bestseller or that shiny new productivity app? What if it's in getting back to basics – back to our senses, back to what we already know works?

So what's the alternative?

• The Common Sense Filter - Ask yourself:

  "What would my grandmother say about this?" I don’t know your grandma, but mine had a pretty no BS approach to life.

  Often, the simplest, most obvious solution is the right one.

  If you want to lose weight, eat less and move more. If you want to save money, spend less than you earn. If you want better relationships, be kind and show up consistently. We often overcomplicate things that are fundamentally simple. Does this work 100% of the times? Sure not. But show me what does.

  From my perspective, it’s a good starting point.

• The "Good Enough" Philosophy: Perfect is the enemy of done.

  Instead of seeking the optimal solution, aim for "good enough."

  Want to exercise? A 20-minute walk is good enough.

  Want to eat better? Adding a vegetable to dinner is good enough.

  Want to read more? Ten pages a day is good enough.

  Good enough, done consistently, beats perfect done never.

• Time as Your Filter. Here's a powerful truth: Time naturally filters out the noise. If something has been working for decades or centuries, it probably has merit. New isn't necessarily better.

  Before jumping on the latest trend, ask: "Has this stood the test of time?"

  Meditation? Thousands of years old.

  Getting enough sleep? Pretty timeless advice.

  Regular exercise? Never goes out of style.

• Simplicity as Your Guide. If you need a spreadsheet to track your self-improvement system, it's probably too complicated.

  The best solutions are often the simplest ones.

  Can you explain it to a ten-year-old?

  Can you do it without buying anything new?

  Can you start right now?

  These are good signs.

P.S. Need more convincing? No problem. Listen to Barry’s TED Talk.

P.P.S. Can’t stop because, well, it’s kind of FUN consuming all this? I get it. You might try some Intermittent Fasting: one week consuming, one week -just practicing.