Why are we quick to make choices on some issues versus slow to make choices on other issues?
Hick’s Law states that choice reaction time, the reaction time resulting from a situation that involves a choice as how to respond, is logarithmically related to the number of response choice alternative. What this means is that the more choices you have the longer it will take you to act. For an athlete, it can be as simple as hearing a starter pistol to sprint off the starting blocks, one stimulus, one choice, one response. With life we have lots of stimuli, with lots of choices, but what if we can make our lives easier by only paying attention to the correct stimulus?
Make a choice, chose to get rid of the stimulus that is not pertinent or relevant. (Which the definition of what is pertinent or relevant will vary because we all live different lives.) Over the past year I have shifted what is pertinent or relevant with having a kid and getting married.
Throughout all our lives, we will hit milestones and those milestones will change what is pertinent or relevant for that time. This is okay, considering you have a goal that you want to achieve. Then the choices you make should go in the direction of your goals. If it is not pertinent to you or your goal, make that choice and get rid of it, or stop doing it. Or if it is pertinent and you are not doing it, then make the choice, and start doing it.
The less factors in any equation makes that equation simpler to solve. Start with simple choices and then snowball to bigger ones. Wake up with your first alarm, make your bed, are some examples of small easy choices. Work towards choices like choosing fast food restaurants that make fresh food instead of fast food chains that use processed food (Qdoba vs McDonalds for example). These are some little choices that will snowball into bigger choices that can help you stay on track with your goals with fitness and life.
For me, I look at it like this: Everything part of my life has a choice. I can either choice one thing or the other or nothing at all, but it is a choice. Understanding that is the easy part. The hard part for me is the choice of choosing what is easier or what is harder to do.
So, I made it easier on myself, I now just chose whatever is the hard choice. For example, I chose to read a book over watching tv all the time or to take another self or career development course instead of just sitting around the house. Most times the choice that is harder is the one you should be making to propel yourself closer to your goals.