Instead of leaving doors open for more options, you need strong resolution and confidence to close some doors so as to maintain focus and good decision-making. Letting your mind focus on the wrong things is too costly.
Psychologist Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice, cites some interesting findings:
- We assume more choice means better options and more satisfaction.
- However, overloading your choices will make you question the decisions you make even before you have made them.
- Overload also leaves you in a constant state of FOMO (fear of missing out), always looking over your shoulder and questioning the decisions you have made.
- This puts you in constant stress, with a feeling you are constantly falling behind and doubting decisions already taken.
Having options is a good thing, but decision-makers deliberately avoid almost all available options. It takes confidence and boldness to be able to commit to the only decision you make and close yourself off from other options.
If you are serious about achieving your goals and are purposefully moving forward, you need to create an environment that protects you from most of the world full of variations.
Strategic ignorance is not about closedness. The point is to know what you want and recognise that you as a person can be easily influenced or derailed. Instead of getting into stupid situations and being forced to rely on will, you simply avoid such situations in the first place. Create boundaries, live according to your priorities, values and dreams.
Selective ignorance is neither about avoiding learning, nor about avoiding feedback: it is simply the intelligence of consciousness that you know what selectively to avoid and ignore. From a psychological point of view, if you don't know something, it probably won't tempt you. You won't have to waste time thinking about something you already know you don't want.
It therefore pays to have your own automation systems in place that will make your decision easier so you do not have to consider every option. For example, if you have an assistant, you can create guidelines for selecting e-mails in your inbox. If they do not meet your criteria, they will be answered by an assistant and you will not have to deal with them. You will thus have room for more important tasks.
Of course, you want to be exposed to new and different ways of life. Growth and transformation require awareness of things you don't currently know about. However, strategic ignorance is about targeted ignoring or protection against what you already know is an unwanted distraction for you.
To create an environment that protects you from the distractions of this world, you need to know what you want. You need to know what you stand for. You need to have rules and systems that prevent you becoming "knee-deep in mud".
Think about all the inputs you are currently receiving that are sabotaging your decision-making skills and focus.
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