Infinite Option Menu From Hell

Imagine that you’re hanging out with some good friends, when one of them tells you about an amazing new restaurant that just opened up. You immediately open up your Yelp app and see over a thousand 5 star reviews, so you make a note to check it out when you have a chance.  

The next day, you decide to check out the restaurant, and when you arrive, the wait list is long. But soon you are seated and handed a 10 page long menu. You feel your heart begin to race, and your anxiety increases as you now have to pick something off the menu. With too many options, it can feel impossible to decide what to order.  

What’s intriguing about this all too common scenario is that most restaurants with extensive menus don’t do well. The most successful restaurants are actually the ones that specialize in just a few items, but hit it out of the park. This sounds counter-intuitive, but why? 

When you focus on just a few items, you have the ability to focus on the quality of the ingredients, how to perfect the recipe, and how to consistently deliver excellence to your patrons. This principle, known as Essentialism, can also be applied to our personal goals. 

Greg McKeown states in his bestselling book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less that: 

“Essentialism is more than a time-management strategy or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.”

In order to have personal success, we have to focus on what matters most rather than diluting our efforts by stretching ourselves too thin. Much like successful restaurants, if we take the time to really hone in on what matters most to us and make focused progress towards that goal, we are more likely to have success. Focusing on the essentials of your goals in life brings a clarity to your life which inevitably leads to sustained growth and a personal 5 star rating.