The Power of Being Choiceless

This article is written by our English columnist, Kyu Park.

<http://sobadass.me/2014/02/27/blogging-with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility>

Did you ever go to a buffet and wonder why there are some dishes that no one would ever eat? They displease me, because they seem to serve as some cheap marketing of the buffet to look more appealing. But in our world, options are seldom taken as a burden. People think extra options are harmless, because they might as well not take these choices if they’re distasteful. However, as Spiderman said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” A variety of choices comes with the responsibility of self control... which many lack.

The most evident harm of extra choices is found in everyday life.  Ironically, our fast developing society is slowly degrading our intellect. Technology, including our idol, the Internet, gives us too many entertaining options to murder our time. It is not much different from the Dark Ages, when people developed bloody torturing tools – we’re thrilled about the variety of choices with which we can shred our time and suffer in time’s absence.

Just as the study of economy lies under the premise that we have limited resources, when we make choices in our lives, we have to be aware of the limitation of our most precious resource: time. Well-rounded people are favored these days, so everyone wants to be good at everything. However, time does not allow such an aspiration to be realized. The desire to have all strengths hinders individuals from refining their unique strengths.

So we need to focus. We have intuitively learned the best way to do this through experience. Elimination of distractions. The library is the go-to place to cram and procrastinate before midterms and finals. By limiting our freedom and only leaving ourselves with the choice to study, we put on our side blinders (blinkers) like racehorses and concentrate only on what’s in front of us. I am in one of the most choiceless environments myself, and I have to admit that it is doing me good. As I serve in the army, there is seldom freedom or choice. No cell phones, no computers, no alcohol, no distraction. This is probably why I’ve been able to delve back into my old hobby, reading. I’ve read over 60 books during the past five months, and such progress was only possible because I was choiceless. I finally realized that I have been indulging in too many bad choices. I was like a child who liked sweets too much, even though it is our regular meals that actually nourish us.

        People should clean out their closets of too many options.We are currently obese from the numerous choices we have. Get rid of useless flabs of options and build a six pack of your best options. Once you’ve chosen your best ones, stick with them and you’ll realize how much time and energy you have to put into your strongest desires. Then, you’ll feel it. The power of being choiceless.