When You've Chosen "This," You Forego "That!"

Life is all about choices.

And with choices come a side effect that makes many people uncomfortable — or they outright choose to deny that it exists — namely that virtually all decisions have an "opportunity cost."

I can't help but think it's one of the reasons why some people have a great deal of difficulty in making decisions: they know (even if only subconsciously) that by committing to one particular course of action it also means they forego being able to take another — and potentially quite attractive — course of action. So they forever stall... in a strange psyhcological "dance" in which they tell themselves that both choices still "exist" as long as they haven't yet made a decision.

What brought this all to mind is my own absence from Hive for a few days being the opportunity cost of focusing intently on building up one of my eBay businesses that not only has been a bit neglected for a while, but which simply must be boosted to help fund "tax season," which is right around the corner.

It all reminds me a bit of the long-standing debate over being a "specialist" vs. being a "generalist." When you try to do some of everything, you rarely become a top performer or a success in anything.

I have pretty much been a generalist for all my adult life. I dabble a bit here, then I dabble a bit there...

Whereas there is no argument that it has been fun to work that way — and quite educational — it has never been a tangibly effective way to live. Meaning that I end up going along, and then suddenly having to immerse myself in something for several weeks/months, out of pure necessity.

I am grateful that I can do that — that I have the freedom to do that — but the result typically is that a careful "balancing act" gets thrown off balance in service of effectiveness, and it takes me months or even years to restore it.

That's not really a complaint, so much as a simple observation about what life as we know it today demands of us.

I can't honestly pass judgment on whether or not that is a "bad" thing or a "good" thing... but I can't help but ponder whether it's just part of "the greater picture" that is being carefully orchestrated from "behind the scenes," in which our root survival depends increasingly on people following a specified path towards which we are beeing gently steered, in the sense that if we don't follow the path of least resistance, life becomes very difficult.

Of course, only time will tell whether my sidestepping into focusing only on a single thing for a while will actually help... or is merely a story I am telling myself, in order to feel like I have at least a minimal measure of control over where we are going.

It's funny though — just an aspect of my underlying personality, I suppose — that even as I reason out all of the preceding, I find myself thinking that "I really should be spending more time with my Hive blog."

But why?

Just to stand in defiance of feeling pushed in some direction? Or because it does me some tangible good?

I don't have the answer to that. I expect I never will. For the moment, I'll just cite that "it's a mental health thing."

And, with that thought, I'm going to head back to my temporary world of singlemindedness. The goal is to add another 20-25 items for sale in my eBay stamp shop. And to do so, every day, for the next 60 days. 1,200-1,500 new items to sell, with a value of $10,000-$20,000. Should make a difference... right?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

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Created at 2025.02.14 11:13 PST
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