I flipped repeatedly through the SiriusXM channels in the car, growing sick of ‘90s on 9’ and ‘Pop 2K.’ After three hours of driving, music could no longer provide the energy I needed to stay focused. My boredom was quickly growing with each passing mile and kept me clicking resolutely through the stations.
Eventually, I came up with a new strategy to engage my mind and keep from counting the endless minutes. I started listening to podcasts. On this last drive, one podcast in particular piqued my interest, and it surely applies to all U.Va students with ambitious future plans. The description named the talk “The Best-Laid Backup Plans....”
Obviously this surprised me. Normally, having options and a back-up plan seems like a good idea. We all want options for jobs or graduate schools, and a legitimate backup plan could save us from catastrophe should our first choice fail. By what kind of logic could these things be detrimental?
I cranked the volume, expecting a fascinating forty-five minutes. First, the two men described the “Paradox of Choice.”
For the sake of simplicity, I’ll compare this paradox with walking into a restaurant. If that restaurant is a pizzeria, you will probably quickly order a slice of pizza without second-guessing your decision. If, on the other hand, the restaurant is a huge diner offering pages of different options, you may take longer to explore all of your choices. Suddenly you may realize you have no idea what you want, and when you finally place your order, you may still be thinking about all of the things you passed on, plagued by uncertainty and regret.
Research proves the people from the first scenario end up happier and more satisfied overall, while people in the second scenario tend to become anxious and feel increasing stress. This experience defines the Paradox of Choice.
Moreover, just like you would be more preoccupied over the menu at the restaurant if you were starving or hadn’t eaten all day, other choices also become more stressful when we feel they hold greater importance to our lives. Internships, graduate schools and career paths all fall into this category.
Although we naturally gravitate toward leaving more options open for ourselves, which is not always a bad thing, it’s important to be aware that more options may not actually make you happier with your final decision. To that end, when you finally make a choice, try its best not to dwell on all the options you gave up, as this is a fast track for unease and unneeded anxiety.
The podcast had me hooked, and I’m sure we can all think of at least one occasion in our lives where too many choices rendered us stress and confused. I was curious if the reasoning against back-up plans would hold a similar logic.
According to the podcast, having a back-up plan often makes people less motivated to reach their original goal. In other words, with a safety net in place, people are less worried about working hard towards what they really want.
Despite this statement, I still believe a back-up plan does more good than bad. However, I’ll acknowledge that the point made in the discussion has a certain, and more awareness never hurts. The trick, perhaps, is not to forfeit your first plan of action but to somehow stay motivated despite the extra precaution.
Typical U.Va students fall into the ‘prepared’ category — we like to have a back-up plan, and multiple options for what to do with our futures. But don’t be alarmed, neither options nor back-up plans are innately negative concepts. However, we should be aware of the possible pitfalls so we can avoid them on the way to our bright and successful futures.
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