As I was growing up and going through school, I was constantly told that I should do things because it would give me more choices. The more options I had the better off I would be. To an extent, I think this is actually true. However, having too many choices and not being able to choose can also bring about stress.

Lately, I have been planning my wedding. And even though we are keeping it small and simple, there is still a lot to plan. The complications are further increased since people will be coming from around the world.

Most recently we have been working on invitations. There are a lot of choices. Do we have them made or make them ourselves? If we make them ourselves what kind of paper and what color. Where should we get the paper from? What about envelopes? This is a pretty special occasion, we want it to be perfect right? We don’t want to get it wrong.

Not wanting to get it wrong is what causes the reluctance to make a choice. The more choices there are, the more you have to give up to make a choice. What if we choose a certain card and then don’t like it. We would have give up all those others that might have been better. This inability to make a choice can waste a lot of time and cause a lot of stress, especially when there is a deadline.

So what should you do?

I find that selecting the ones that I like and then making quick eliminations works well for me. If a feature I am looking for isn’t present then it is eliminated. Once I have far fewer choices it is much easier to make a choice. And while some times I will wish I had made a different choice. That disappointment is usually much smaller than the stress of not being able to make a choice at all.

Sometimes even a bad choice can be better than not being able to make a decision at all. A bad choice can be fixed and you can move forward. If you don’t make a choice then you can’t move forward at all.

Lots of choices are a good thing, but only if you are able to make a decision. If not, then you are better of with fewer options.

As I sit here writing this I am laying in the sun on Maehama beach in Miakojima, Japan. The picture above is the location just after getting out of the car. Am I sending you this from my vacation? No. Technically, I’m working.

For those who have been following this blog for a while know that I gave up my job in Tokyo, got rid of all my stuff, and moved to the beautiful island of Miyakojima to do Internet marketing. For those interested in doing something similar, check out the 4 hour work week.

Today, I actually want to talk about how important it is to get out of the office and especially, away from the computer.

Regardless of the job, it seems that most of us spend a lot of time punching away at a keyboard. It has become so common we don’t even consider working somewhere there isn’t a computer. Unfortunately, working on the computer isn’t always efficient or creative. It can also be quite distracting.

If you are using a computer, then there are a lot of distractions. It can be difficult to focus on work, when a failblog video is just a couple of clicks away. This of course is after you read through the endless unimportant email. And even when you do get to work, you switch between several tabs and projects. What is it that computers actually help us do again.

So what can you do? Get away from the computer. Turn it off. Remember what you did before you had a computer? A lot of projects we do on the computer can be done ( better and more creative) another way. This works especially well for projects that have several parts. Most projects have a part you need to think about and create. If you do that away from the computer and in a place you like it doesn’t feel like work.

Lastly, consider substitutes. Today’s smart phones can do quite a bit. If you have to be in front of a “computer” take it with you. I say this as i am typing on my Iphone. Work doesn’t seem like work if you are sitting on a beach.

And with that I think it is time to end this post. The sun is getting kind of bright.

Inside there is a waterfall that has created some unique rock formations resembling a pumpkin. Okay, enough talk already. Here’s the video!

This is basically my first time shooting video underwater, so it isn’t perfectly smooth, but I will get better. Let me know what you think. (YouTube is still rendering the video so it may take time for the quality to get better.)

So are there option for those who don’t live in a remote area? What about those of us who live in the city and the suburbs with limited resources and limited land? It seems there just isn’t much we can do. At least that is what I thought until I watched the below video and learned how one family turned their 1/5 acre in the suburbs into a farm that grows 99% of their food and even makes a living for them.

Over the last year I have started a small garden for myself. With tomatoes, bell peppers, egg-plant, mint, parsley, onions, lettuce, etc; but this takes it to a completely different level. Imagine what the world could be like if we all did this even a little. Imagine watering a lawn full of vegetables instead of green grass. It definitely makes me rethink my garden.

Time to plan a better one. Let me know what you think and what kind of garden you might already have. Oh, and also be sure to check out their website: Path to freedom.

I used to constantly wonder why my shoes always came undone so easy. I would almost always tie a double-knot just to get them to stay in place. Well, it turns out that there are two basic ways to make a simple bow, and mine was wrong. I was wrapping the loop the wrong way.

But the point of the story is that we tend to make a lot of assumptions. We assume that we have been doing something forever so we must know best. If we have been doing it this long, then it can’t be wrong, right?

It is easy to get into the “this is the way I have always done it and I am not gonna change now” mentality. However, if we keep an open mind, then we might just learn something that makes our lives better (like not having to retie your shoes all the time.

For those who are interested in tying their shoes. I also came across this video.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think. Do you think he is right? Does money motivate you more than he thinks?

In the below video, Adora Svitak, age 12 (who speaks better than many adult speakers I have heard), tells us why we should listen to kids and what they can teach us.

If you enjoy the video please comment and subscribe to my You Tube channel as I will be making more videos.

Oceans of Miyakojima

This is something I often wonder. On one side, worrying about something causes me to take action and make preparations if something doesn’t turn out well. And sometimes those preparations create an even better result than I had originally hoped for.

On the other side, worrying about a worst case scenario can cause a lot of stress. Not to mention that many times there isn’t much you can do about it until the time actually comes.

I tend to be a pretty positive person and always hope for the best. However, I also try to be realistic in assessing a situation. Being to unrealistic can lead to disappointment and leave someone in a bad situation with no options.

So, what do you think? Is worrying a constructive and important part of decision making, or is it simply unneeded stress?