Spoiled for Choice

November 2025 

When I keep things simple, life is very good indeed.  I try hard not to complicate stuff these days.  But that’s no easy task. Everything in life seems to be designed with the intent to make things easier, but I wonder if in fact it truly does.  Especially technology.  Is it simplifying your life? Maybe.  But is it truly just a stress inducer?  The answer depends on who you ask.  But if it’s someone older than 60, it is probably the same answer.  It all too often ramps up the old stress level.  Younger people are generally in denial.  They have anxiety and depression at ever increasing rates and wonder why.  I contend that there are rather obvious reasons for the increase in these maladies.

But it’s not just technology.  It’s everything!  Even a shopping trip can be a complex exercise if you let it be.  Sometimes, even when you try hard to keep it simple, it turns on you!  On a recent trip to the grocery store, I found myself asking the question, why is life so complicated? Which leads me to ponder that subject today. 

Before I provide you with a review of my “remote” shopping trip, I just got off Amazon.  Because of course, you can shop from anywhere now.  I ordered a nut grinder. There were literally hundreds to choose from.  So, it took me about an hour to decide on something I will use maybe 3 times a year and store it away the other 362 days. I’ll likely spend more time searching for where I stored it, than actually using it. But I still can get it tomorrow.  Or sooner! 

Amazon is the consummate instant gratification enabler.  They know exactly what they are doing, and they do it very well indeed.  But “next day” delivery is so ordinary. So why not provide “same day” delivery?  Today, for the first time, that was offered to me.  Which is crazy!  And when I started to think about it, when will “same day” not be fast enough?  My nut grinding need was not that urgent. I chose the low carbon option and will get it sometime next week. But the point is that nowadays we crave instant gratification.  I contend this is a part of our problem. We live in a culture of convenience, and this can cause undue stress, especially when we are not instantly gratified. Which can be often.

But back to my grocery store visit.  Our house was low on hygiene items.  Sundries. You know, deodorant, toothpaste, shaving cream, and the like.  My wife usually takes care of buying this stuff, but on this particular day, she was off with my truck hauling a plethora of household things to Goodwill. “Our endless clutter”, she calls it. Since she was busy, I thought I’d take care of the shopping trip this time.  My good deed for the day.  She was happy to add to my list with a few things of her own.  With that, I jumped in her car and went off to the store.

Now, I really don’t think the grocery store is complicated.  Yet, to simplify it, I do several things.  For example, I park in the same place each time, so I don’t lose my truck.  Now, that’s not 100% true, other than the fact that I do always park in the same place.  The inherent benefit is that I never forget where I parked.  I also don’t use the “scan as you go” technology because I really don’t find that it saves any time.  I usually mess it up somehow regardless.  I really just got used to scanning my own items at the checkout, which I love. I’m so cool I even use my phone to pay.  Which I am very proud of.

Anyway, I went over near the pharmacy to get the first stuff on my list.  That’s when I noticed I had forgotten my reading glasses.  So, my first stop was in the glasses section to pick up a pair of 1.75 readers.  I am almost legally blind without them.  I didn’t even take the tag off them, as I planned on putting them back on the shelf when I was done.  An act I have perpetrated many times before.  I know, I know, kinda gross but whatever.  I didn’t have my truck which is where I keep the emergency pair.  I forget my glasses way too often. 

My adventure started in the toothpaste aisle.  Yes aisle!  There are more toothpaste options now than ever before. Literally hundreds of them.  And home toothcare has taken a leap forward with all the other products you can choose from as well.  It was baffling.  I hadn’t written down what kind of toothpaste we use, but I know it’s always the same.  I also knew I would get it wrong and there would be hell to pay when I got home. There were at least 20 different kinds of Colgate alone, which I knew was what we had used for many years.  So, I decided to text my wife and ask her.  But I’d left my phone in the car.  Oh well, I gritted my teeth and chose one.  Knowing it was gonna be wrong.  Why were there so many choices?  What can be the real difference in all of this tooth soap? But it didn’t end there.

I found that each item on my list had either an aisle of the store dedicated to it, or at least a large portion of one.  There were more hair gels, more fragrances of deodorant and more shampoo than I could fathom. Frankly, it’s ridiculous.  And it’s not just big supermarkets.  I recalled recently getting beef jerky at a small gas station on a lost highway in Colorado, and there were at least 20 options. It’s everything. We are given way too many choices.

Today it was all of things I previously mentioned, and then it was the dishwashing liquid, the laundry detergent and the paper towels.  Toilet paper was unbelievable!  Not just the selection, but the price.  I couldn’t believe how much it cost to wipe my rear end.  As important as that function is, it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to commit to it.

When I got done shopping, I had spent about $300.  I told you this stuff was expensive.  Once I got over the shock of this, I really started thinking about simplicity.  About choice.  I realized that it’s not just technology that complicates things, it’s all of the choices.  From my nut grinder to the toilet paper, we have so many decisions to make.  So many features to consider. 

What I was thinking about was, is our world happier because of this?  Is life simpler with all of this choice?  Of course, it’s not.  It is just a tad overwhelming, even for those that don’t realize it.  It causes stress and makes our complicated lives even more so.  I was really deeply pondering this fact as I walked away from the self-checkout register to leave the store.

I must have been a little more than overwhelmed, because as I was walking out the door the security buzzer went off.  Yes, I was still wearing those readers I had “borrowed”.  Of course, I quickly realized what had happened as the greeter came over to check my receipt.  I had to manfully fess up to my indiscretion.  She was very kind and took the glasses back without admonishing me.  I was humiliated; that’s for sure.  In my head, I blamed it on the toothpaste.

I left the store, continuing to apologize profusely, and proceeded to go out to my truck.  Sadly, I was unable to find the thing.  It was not in my usual spot.  What the heck! I was really having a tough time, and a real-life senior moment.  Of course, I soon recollected that I hadn’t driven my truck, but my wife’s SUV.  Sure enough, it was right there where I had left it. I didn’t recognize it because I was looking for my big pretty truck.

With a sigh of relief, I deposited my $300 treasure in the SUV. I sat down in the driver’s seat, and it began to adjust itself.  Ahh technology.  But what I failed to realize is that it was adjusting itself to my wife’s 5’4 frame and not my 6’2 bulky self.  It nearly broke my neck as the seat went forward and the steering wheel moved back, which also came close to collapsing my chest. It took me some moments to recover and figure out how to stop it from wanting to go back to my wife’s settings. “F’ing technology” I muttered.  Times were simpler when we had fewer choices, just not as cool.