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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness.
In today's session, we're going to
talk about the paradox of choice.
So this idea comes from
the research of Dr.
Barry Schwartz, who wrote
the book, Paradox Of Choice.
He makes a compelling argument
for the idea that more choices may
actually be a form of mental tyranny.
Now on one hand, we might hear
that and go, that's just not true.
I love having choice and the more
choices I have, the freer, I am.
I hear you.
But have you also had that experience
of going into the grocery store,
trying to pick out toilet paper,
but not being able to choose which
one because there are 37 options.
Or maybe going to a restaurant and
feeling paralyzed because there are so
many great meal options and it actually
becomes stressful to choose one.
The tyranny is not in the choice,
not in what you're choosing.
It's in the opportunity cost, the
things that you have to give up.
Choosing one great meal out of five
potential great meals on the menu
doesn't just mean getting that meal.
It also means not getting to the,
to experience the other four.
The more choices we have, the more
opportunities we have to pass up.
Much of this mental tyranny
could obviously be put in the
category of first world problems.
And a certain amount of choice
is absolutely important for
freedom and wellbeing, and I'm
not denying that in the slightest.
But it may be interesting to explore
where more choice is actually creating
tension or stress in your life.
And instead of feeling like you need
to maximize everything, which I am
certainly guilty of, what would it be
like to take more of a satisficing role?
Being okay with the choice at
hand, even knowing that there are
a lot of other choices out there.
One of the things I really
appreciate about mindfulness is
that it it's helped me with this.
It's helped me to, to be present with
what I have, the choice that I've made
and to let go of the ideas of like, well,
what if I did this or what if I had that.
Those are thoughts.
Those are ideas.
That's the maximizing mentality, but
we don't have to be enslaved to it.
We could watch it and then come
back, be present with what's
here and appreciate what's here.
So just start to notice
what your tendency is.
Are you someone that, that satisfices?
That says, oh actually,
this is good enough.
Or are you more of the maximizer?
I need to have it perfect.
Or I need to get the best
option of all of these.
And notice how that might
be impacting your wellbeing.
We'll play around with more
of this in the meditation.
As always, thank you for your practice.
I'll talk to you shortly.
Take care.
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