Don’t be paralyzed by information…
You could be forgiven, in this modern age of information, for being indecisive. After all, studies have shown that when faced with too many options us humans tend to freeze.
Have you ever gone back and forth with someone on where to eat? Me too.
This funny-but-frustrating conversation is referred to as the ‘Paradox of Choice’ a term coined by an American Psychologist.
Basically, we find it more difficult to make a decision when we’re presented with many options.
If you’ve found yourself hungry during post work beers or late night bong sessions but only had two restaurant options available, the choice becomes more obvious.
However, nowadays, with an abundance of food choices and delivery options (sometimes even going to the front door is too much) our brains fail us.
This doesn’t only happen during my weekends. It also occurs when picking stocks or finding the best bank, credit card, foreign currency exchange service, financial advisor and basically every-damn-thing.
It’s also commonly referred to as analysis paralysis and it can be very restricting.
So, we’re already unable to decide where to eat. Now, lets see how this plays out in your financial journey.
Us everyday investors face two hurdles that make it seemingly impossible to take action.
Lack of financial awareness
As I often preach in my articles, there is an astonishing lack of financial education and personal finance awareness.
Of course, it is this way on purpose. It would work against the financial industry if we all knew how to self-manage our money.
Further, this lack of awareness also begs the questions of how can we be expected to read an investment contract or understand fancy financial language when we’re on the back foot?
We are instantly disarmed when a good looking, fast talking and nice smelling financial advisor walks into the room.
Oh, and they have a nice watch which gives the illusion of wealth/being good with money.
We don’t know any better and we trust this person’s confidence and we don’t want to admit we don’t understand or ask too many questions in fear of being annoying.
Plus, they are helpful! They eliminate the need for us to filter through boring financial information ourselves.
Basically, they are a one stop shop.
Information Overload
Never have two things been so matched, so yin-yang. Check this out…
Not only is there a lack of financial education and personal finance awareness, now add to the mix, way too much information about what you should do with your money.
Note, this information is not educational content, no, it’s directional content, it’s just telling you what to do.
Again, we loop back to analysis paralysis. There is too much information available that we shut down and ignore it and in turn, risk our financial future.
I know some people are in this situation, does this sound familiar?
You know you should be doing something better with your money but you don’t know where to start.
How can we change it?
Well, start on this website for one, or message me.
Or, find another personal finance blogger you like and educate yourself through their content. It’s cool either way, the goal here is to spread awareness and inspire financial wellbeing.
The benefit of abundance is the ability to choose.
So, choose you preferred guide and get started.
