Why mocking Buridan’s Donkey brings misery

The paradox of choice, or, in other words, why people claim to want more choice and freedom despite the downside it brings.

From a business perspective, too much choice drives people away; from a customer perspective, the ‘fear of missing out’ brings misery.  Slaves to the fear of missing out will mock Buridan’s Donkey, yet it is a long-established truth that is unlikely to have changed in today’s ‘iI iMust iHave iEverything iEra‘. (See also: The Lindy effect.)

Entrepreneurs that prevail understand ‘less is more‘ and ‘more is less‘, and they embrace Lean and Agile practices accordingly. Businesses that pander to trends and fads are less secure.

Mayo Oshin’s article explains why wisdom recognises more is less. It makes the following points, for example, which offer some interesting thinking:

‘The irony is that the freedom of choice and abundance available to us has inadvertently robbed us of the same freedom it promised to deliver.

‘What we’ve gained in freedom of choice, we’ve also lost in becoming slaves to anxiety, overwhelm, regret, dissatisfaction and misery.

‘The only way to regain true freedom and satisfaction in our lives, is to embrace hardship and give up on freedom of choice.