You have probably heard the phrase beggars can’t be choosers, but what about the phrase pickers can’t be choosers? I am reading the book The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz and he made an interesting distinction between pickers and choosers. I love this distinction because we rarely slow down to consider our options. Let me help clarify the difference between a picker and a chooser.
A chooser is a person who digs deep to uncover the choices that would be best for him or her. Instead of accepting what is placed before them, choosers will explore all of the options. They will look at what has been placed before them and consider whether there might be other alternatives as well. The chooser will consider the long and short term consequences of his or her decisions. He or she is fully aware of why the decision would be best, and uses that ability to choose the best path. Only when the chooser has determined that what they are considering is best for them will they decide. If none of the options will work, the chooser will create another option.
A picker does not reflect on other options. The only options he or she can see are the ones placed before him or her. All a picker can do is grab what’s in front of them and hope for the best. A picker sees no alternatives.
The distinction is as helpful as Steve Chandlers Owner/Victim distinction. Owners tend to be choosers. An owner will weigh the options and either choose or create based on an aware analysis. A victim tends to be a picker. A victim will only pick between A and B, and never consider that there might be a C. A victim allows others to influence his or her thoughts and decisions while an owner chooses his or her thoughts and decisions.
Lets face it, if you are a picker it is difficult to be a chooser, and vice versa. You are either accpeting WHAT IS as the only option, or you are actively looking for a better way.
Choose up!
Nicholas Townsend Smith
The Expert Performance Coach
