Ed here again…
Barry Schwartz, a Professor at Swarthmore College, has written a marvelous book titled The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, which provides an amazing strategy to get happy.
He urges people to stop being maximizers and start being satisficers. No that is not a misspelling - he uses the term satisficer. So what is a maximizer and a satisficer?
Schwartz says these are two main strategies for how to live. If you’re a maximizer you want the absolute best and will not settle for anything less. If you’re a satisficer you’re happy with what’s good enough, and once you find it you feel no urge to comb through and evaluate every available option.
With the huge abundance of choices in modern America evaluating all the available options before deciding can easily overwhelm anyone.
Schwartz notes that the rate of serious depression in the U.S. has tripled over the past two generations. This happened at the same time that Americans in general experienced dramatic increases in income and consumer spending.
How could that increased choices bring suffering and depression?
The process of choosing and purchasing these things causes maximizers to suffer because they want to always acquire the best.
That requires a great deal of thought, research, time and energy into making your choices.
Maximizers give up time they could have spent much more enjoyably on other things like taking a stroll, spending time with a friend, reading a good book, sight seeing, seeing a movie or playing a game of golf or tennis.
On the other hand The satisficer isn’t obsessed with choosing the absolute best. They are happy with what’s good enough so they are able to spend much more of their time doing things that bring them real pleasure and satisfaction.
So next time you obsess about researching anything you are choosing, realize that the time you spend on this will be time you will never be able to get back.
Maybe better to make a quick decisiont and go do something you really enjoy.
Joy, Abundance, Peace and Healing
Ed Osworth
The Joy Professor
Author “Unstoppable Joy! A Happier You in 12 Simple Steps”
