Maximizers and Satisficers

A few days ago I made a visit to the library to find a few books that’d be to my liking. When my visit was over, I was carrying six books underneath my arms. Why? In case I find one of the books uninteresting or boring, I am always able to put it down and pick another book instead. This kind of behavior is not uncommon to me; I am what the modern psychologists would call maximizer. I am always trying to maximize my experiences - as opposed to satisficers, those who seem, for the most part, to be satisfied. At a first glance it might seem favorable to be a maximizer, since we automatically assume that maximization will lead to a more complete state of being but I am living proof of the opposite.

In the process of finding ways to make things better, one must always approach them with a negative attitude. To improve a situation, for example, there has to be something wrong with it to begin with. As a satisficer, there seems to be no reason not to be content with what one is given and they are therefore generally pleased with life and all its shortcomings. Maximizers, i.e. me, on the other hand, obsesses over the most minor details in their desperate ambition to live a more fulfilling life. The consequence is obvious; instead of utilizing our possibilities we are constantly unsatisfied with what we experience and achieve. This blog, for instance, could be a whole lot better and my contempt for imperfection makes me unwilling to even try posting something most days.

So there I was, carrying six books from the library. It is not an unusual sight, a young person borrowing several books from the library, but the main reason as to why I chose to borrow that many books was not because I wanted to read them all. The fact of the matter was that I couldn’t decide which one to read. Which book will give me the most fulfilling experience? was my only question when I scoured the shelves of our local library. Not being able to know beforehand if any of the books were worth my time, I picked a couple of them in case the one I started reading would get boring or, even worse, if it didn’t give me the intellectual stimulation I demanded from the time I was to invest in it.

The constant feeling of being unsatisfied is not only mentally exhausting, it also makes it hard for me to enjoy life while, at the same time, hindering me from feeling pleased with myself, my achievements and my surroundings. The principle of maximization in, for example, economy, sciences and government are crucial to the development of modern society, but as a personal characteristic it can become overwhelming. In my attempts to control this impulse, I have tried to set up certain rules:

• Limit the time you spend making the decision
• When having made a decision, never regret it
• Focus of the benefits of your choice
• Never regret having made a certain decision

And the most important thing to learn in bridling one’s thoughts:

• Make peace with your mind