In today’s world, despite having numerous choices, people often feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied in various aspects of life, such as careers and relationships. This abundance of options can lead to indecisiveness and a constant search for something better, whether it’s a job or a partner. In the past, limited choices made decisions more straightforward, with professions often passed down through generations. The ease of dating through apps and social media hasn’t necessarily made finding a suitable partner easier. The illusion of choice creates a belief that happiness lies in the next opportunity, but true fulfilment comes from investing in and nurturing one’s current career and relationships. The grass isn’t greener on the other side; it’s greener where you water it.

One would think that with the numerous choices available to us in this age and time, we will be more fulfilled, more sure and more satisfied. However, nothing has been farther from the truth.

I have been thinking for a while now about the dissatisfaction that is apparent in the world today, in every facet of life, be it career or relationships, despite being presented with a lot of options to choose from. People are more confused about what they want out of life. We are constantly being fed what ‘the next big thing’ is and have a fear of missing out, constantly being indecisive in what we want to do with our lives, or the type of person we want to settle down with. The list is ever expanding of what we expect out of our jobs and what we want in a partner.

I believe things were a lot easier and straightforward years ago due to limited choices. It was easy to choose a career path, in fact, there was a time when particular families were known by a particular profession and sons automatically did what their fathers and their father’s father did, with the skills and knowledge being passed down through generations. People knew what path they were to follow and honed their skills to expertise in that area.

This also applies to the relationship scene. People had a small pool with finite options to choose from, with a number of them even getting betrothed from young, having the effect of holding dear what one had and nourishing it. With the numerous dating apps in the market as well as the world being easily accessible via social media one would think it’ll be easier to find a suitable partner and do life with, but reverse is the case.

What I’m trying to say is, with a plethora of choices at our fingertips, indecisiveness follows. We see a career or relationship prospect and, while there are perks, or things that tick our boxes, we focus on the boxes that aren’t ticked or may be partially ticked. And then we go in search of those things in the next job or partner. The truth is, every path has its own pros and cons, there is no perfect ONE.

The disillusion of choice doesn’t just show up in having numerous options, but in people thinking happiness is in the next job or the next partner, the next friend, the next one. I know we’ve all heard this a thousand times and it rings as a cliché, however, clichés are clichés because they are true: but the grass isn’t greener on the other side, the grass is greener where you water it. Invest in your career, in your relationships and see the fruits that’ll sprout out.