# Plath, S. (1963). The Bell Jar **Plath, S. (1963). The Bell Jar** Was an interesting way to show what it would be like to be so paralysed by decision overwhelm that it ends up with you trapped still while the world continues to move forward. There was a good analogy that I will steal about the idea of multiple potentials. There is a fig tree. Each fig represents a future you. One may be a chef living in San Francisco. The other an astronaut. Most people will just pick up a fig and go for it. Some people (including me) will get trapped deciding between figs. Which is better paid? Which is my true purpose? Which will my parents approve of the most? Or any other evaluating question. While your deciding, time moves on. The figs age and if you're not careful then all the figs will have rotten and have fallen from the tree before you've even picked one. [[The apple tree of potential lives]]