{"id":3728,"date":"2021-07-16T07:12:03","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T05:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/when-did-freedom-get-so-hard-and-how-to-stop-it-making-us-stuck\/"},"modified":"2024-04-19T14:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T12:28:47","slug":"when-did-freedom-get-so-hard-and-how-to-stop-it-making-us-stuck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/when-did-freedom-get-so-hard-and-how-to-stop-it-making-us-stuck\/","title":{"rendered":"When did freedom get so hard? And how to stop it making us stuck."},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember back when jeans came in only one flavour?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mine were a trusty pair of Levi\u2019s, oh and the stories they could tell\u2026\"\"These days, jeans are available in a seemingly inexhaustible range of fit, colour and style \u2013 slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, button fly, zip fly, stonewashed, acid-washed, distressed, boot cut, tapered cut, mid-rise, boyfriend, slouchy \u2013 or indeed, any combination of the above. Something that Barry Schwartz ruminates in depth in his long established Ted Talk \u2018The Paradox of Choice\u2019 and his book of the same title.<\/p>\n

Woah! When did deciding on denim get so darned difficult?<\/em><\/p>\n

With so much choice, I always feel like shopping for jeans is on equal par to the challenge of my Mathematics A level, having a similar outcome of beginning with confidence and hope and resulting in a disappointing D grade. How can you plump on the perfect pair \u2013 when there\u2019s invariably always going to be a better option out there?<\/p>\n

\u201cOpportunity costs subtract from the satisfaction that we get out of what we choose \u2013 even when what we choose is terrific.\u201d – Barry Schwartz, Psychologist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schwartz suggests that the freedom which we think should be created by having so many choices in life, actually results in us never being quite satisfied with the ones we do make. He concludes that \u201copportunity costs subtract from the satisfaction that we get out of what we choose \u2013 even when what we choose is terrific.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps his suggestion runs even more true today in growing our business. The choices we need to make can seem similarly perplexing, overwhelming and ultimately paralysing. Particularly so, when Covid has forced us to rapidly rethink the way we work, ensuring we remain relevant in a world that\u2019s suddenly been turned upside down.<\/p>\n

Retracing our steps in an ever-changing world<\/strong><\/p>\n

Therefore, we find ourselves going one of two ways. We either stay resolutely fixed to the path we\u2019ve always trod, when in actual fact we\u2019re going way off course without a compass (or GPS tracker) to our name. Or we hop from one decision to another, agonising over and second-guessing each choice we make and tying ourselves in knots \u2013 all the while, making no meaningful progress.<\/p>\n

Sound all too familiar?<\/em><\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s something of a human trait to doggedly stick to the path we know, without reconsidering that there may be a better route. Adam Grant, an organisational psychologist explores this in his Ted Talk \u2018What Frogs in Hot Water can Teach us about Thinking Again\u2019. He says that us humans \u201cstruggle with rethinking in all kinds of situations\u201d, in particular when it comes to \u201cour goals, identities and habits, we tend to stick to our guns \u2013 and in a rapidly changing world, that’s a huge problem\u201d. One global pandemic later and maybe it\u2019s time to rethink the way we do business.<\/p>\n

Escaping the \u2018freedom of choice\u2019 stranglehold<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But there is a \u2018wyse\u2019 way out of this rut, which centres on the following approach:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get back to your purpose<\/strong> \u2013 Remind yourself of what got you here in the first place. What was the spark that ignited your business flame? The need you wanted to serve in your community? The change you wanted to make to the world? Let your raison d\u2019\u00eatre guide your discussions and influence your choices. As a result, your decisions will respond to the ever-increasing expectations that Covid has aroused not only in your customers, but in all of your stakeholders.\n<\/li>\n
  2. Unearth the right question<\/strong> \u2013 To give yourself laser-sharp focus, it\u2019s important to define the problem. And you can do this by unearthing the right question you need to ask. If you\u2019re up the wrong mountain having read the wrong map, your question might be \u201chow do I get home safely, with limited supplies and energy?\u201d. Discovering what the right question is for your business and answering it collectively within your organisation, is energising for all and helps you cohesively walk the same path \u2013 united in your decision and the direction you need to take.\n<\/li>\n
  3. Walk the path that emerges<\/strong> \u2013 With your purpose in mind and the problem collectively defined, your choices will now seem less perplexing and your decisions more satisfying, as a natural way forward emerges. Keeping your core at the heart of what you do will bring natural alignment, ensuring the right people are attracted to your business and the technologies and innovation you choose, remain relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Although perhaps less helpful for picking out your next pair of jeans, this is an effective tried-and-tested Wyseminds\u2019 approach that your business can use \u2013 to respond to change and overcome \u2018choice paralysis\u2019 in this topsy-turvy post-Covid era.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Here at Wyseminds we\u2019re committed to supporting you on this journey \u2013 helping you to rediscover your purpose, navigate your choices and take your right next step. Start by signing up to our introductory<\/strong> Lift-Off programme<\/strong> \u2013 it\u2019s our gift to women entrepreneurs everywhere and you can get involved completely free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Escape the paralysis now by signing up to our free <\/strong>Lift-Off Programme \u2013and make the right choices for your business.<\/p>\n

    [primary_button link=”#modal-lift-off-programme”]Join the Lift-Off Programme[\/primary_button]<\/p>\n

    [link_button link=”https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/our-approach\/”]Discover the Lift-Off Programme[\/link_button]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Remember back when jeans came in only one flavour? Mine were a trusty pair of Levi\u2019s, oh and the stories they could tell\u2026These days, jeans are available in a seemingly inexhaustible range of fit, colour and style \u2013 slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, button fly, zip fly, stonewashed, acid-washed, distressed, boot cut, tapered cut, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[112,113,114,115],"class_list":["post-3728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-change","tag-choice","tag-lift-off-programme","tag-post-covid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3731,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728\/revisions\/3731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyseminds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}