I was listening to a Coursera course on A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment in which I was asked to take a Maximization test to determine whether I’m a Maximizer or Satisficer. Maximizer tends to optimize the choices they make, where as satisficers is happy with the good enough option. I’m a maximizer. No surprise there since I Yelp every restaurant I visit and love comparison shopping on Amazon. With choices come the tyranny of choice. How should Maximizers like me handle it?
- Choose when to choose. We can decide to restrict our options when the decision is not crucial. For example, make a rule to visit no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.
- Learn to accept “good enough.” Settle for a choice that meets your core requirements rather than searching for the elusive “best.” Then stop thinking about it. Don’t worry about what you’re missing.
- Consciously limit how much you ponder the seemingly attractive features of options you reject. Teach yourself to focus on the positive parts of the selection you make.
- Control expectations. “Don’t expect too much, and you won’t be disappointed” is a cliché. But that advice is sensible if you want to be more satisfied with life.