Sometimes you just decide to decide

?The most important thing is to learn that good enough is almost always good enough; you don?t need to find the best. You?ll be happier if, once you find something that meets your standards, you stop looking and don?t worry about it.? ?Barry Schwartz, author

Three months ago I found two bistro chairs and a little round table for my kitchen. The chairs are solid white wrought iron, the table has black legs and a hunter green wooden top.

My first thought when I picked them up was what color I would paint them. I consulted Pinterest, the Pottery Barn catalog and the Property Brothers. Today they are still white, black and green. Decision fail.

The same goes for the main wall in my living room. It?s been blank for years because I told myself when I saw the right thing to display, I would know it.

I don?t know much yet.

?Take my younger son to an ice cream parlor or restaurant if you really want to torture him. He has to make a choice?and his fear, he says, is that whatever he selects, the other option would have been better.?

This is a quote from a story in the New York Times about the paralyzing act of endless choices, something that should be a benefit. But it looks like that may not be how it works.

I know in my case it can be in the house or on the body. The first time someone said ?40 is the new 30? it was meant to be empowering, but I think life got a little more complicated.

That was probably the day there were suddenly 50 kinds of shampoo and another 50 kinds of moisturizers to choose from. I?ve stood in aisles and stared blankly for entirely too long scanning bottles of conditioner, feeling the pressure. So, what is most important to me ? Volume, moisture, shine, bounce, or color?

I would never trade the freedom of choice and can?t imagine life without it. But at times, there?s some overkill in that department. And it comes with pressure to make the right choice. Always the right choice. Because you wouldn?t want to buy a volumizing conditioner, end up with hair flatter than before just to throw it away and start the decision process all over again.

In the average day it?s estimated we make 35,000 decisions. The majority of them are minor, but that?s a lot of brainwork, even if most of them are subconscious and not so important.

My kitchen table still works and my wall still stands, but I know there is an underlying storm of frustration somewhere in my mind because I can?t pick a paint color or wall art.

And on the morning of the glorious day when I do make decision numbers 35,001 and 35,002, they will probably come to me as I sit at my neglected table reading about making my 40-something hair look like it?s 30-something.

Of course that will involve switching shampoos.

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