“Being rich is about having options.” – Chris Rock*
I’ve been thinking a lot about options lately… Especially new ones that pop up unexpectedly, and, coincidentally, I came across a song on my morning commute called Options, by Gomez, which is now solidly stuck in my head.
As the song says, at least I’ve got options… But the real challenge is choosing among options.
I used to have the-more-the-better kind of mentality when it came to options. I still feel lucky to have them, it’s truly a problem of abundant riches, but I’ve come to believe in my own life that the truth of riches is a little more complicated than simply having a lot of options.
I’m not alone in this belief. Psychologists agree that overwhelming choice can create a feeling of anxiety
The key to me seems to be having an underlying understanding of what you really want and the confidence to choose it wisely from among your options. Often far easier said than done.
Choosing wisely can mean…
Staying the course in the face of new options that don’t fit,
Jumping at the options that do, or
Maybe even having the presence of mind to look at the options themselves differently, tweaking them to fit.
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*Note: This quote is paraphrased from memory since I heard Chris Rock say it on Oprah a while back. Yup, Oprah. Pretty sure Chris doesn’t care whether I got it right or not, but this is what I remember him saying.
Update: Here’s a YouTube video from Chris Rock on the Difference between a Job and a Career found via Ben Casnocha! I think he’s right about checking your watch… With a career, there’s not enough hours in the day. With a job, time doesn’t move quickly enough!
