In A World Full Of Choices
Several years ago I was sitting on the sofa of my couples therapists office when the therapist suddenly asked my then husband to step out for a moment. The therapist let my then husband out, closed the door behind him and returned to his seat across the room from me. He looked me in the eye and said, “You’re just going to have to decide that this is good enough.” Good enough? Shook. SHOOK! How dare he!?
Said Card Seen Here.
As a card a friend once gave me said, “I’m the salt of the earth, the pick of the litter, the cat’s meow and just the very best of all bests!” If I am the best of all bests, then only the best will do! Good enough, my ass.
Do you know what a “Maximizer” is? I didn’t either until a few months ago. A “Maximizer” is someone whose goal is to choose the “Absolute Best” and they need to be assured their choice was indeed, the absolute best. This concept comes from Barry Schwartz’ book, The Paradox of Choice (see the TEDTalk for the Cliff’s Notes). The problem with being a Maximizer, is that in the Industrialized West we live in, there is quite literally, an endless amount of choice, and of course, we can never actually know that we researched all of the options and that our choice was objectively the best. Worse, for a Maximizer, after making a selection, they are nagged by the options they couldn’t research. Hi, I’m Sam. I’m a Maximizer.
But this is a blog about interior design damn it! So let me bring it home. A few years ago I decided I was going to buy a new bed frame. Seems pretty straight forward. Ohhh reallllly? I just typed “Bed” into the search bar on Wayfair and it returned 21,457 results. And of course I need to check Crate&Barrel, CB2, West Elm, Lulu and Georgia, McGee and Co., Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Target (to name a few). As I nod off to sleep, I abruptly sit up! Oh wait let me check my Instagram Influencers “picks” just to be sure. Just as I am about to commit to a piece from West Elm... let me just...one.last.search... I find the exact knock off at Living Spaces for half the price. Ha! Suckers. Signed, sealed, delivered, Maximizer victory.
So you wanna go custom? Here’s Jolene’s sample drawer, multiply your options to choose from by a thousand.
This abundance of choice and a Maximizers need for “only the best” however, creates a psychological burden. According to Schwartz, this vast amount of choice makes you frustrated, less likely to choose, more likely to mess up, and less happy overall. We are suffering from choice overload. Sound familiar?
The antidote? Satisficing. Satisficing combines Satisfy and Suffice. A Satisficer’s goal? You guessed it, choosing what is Good Enough. It doesn’t mean that a Satisficer doesn’t have high standards, they do. It just means that when something meets the Satisficers criteria and standards, the search is over. To settle for something that is “good enough” is to not worry about the possibility that there might be something better.
Okay but we know that when it comes to your home, only “the best” will do. Here’s an idea, hire a Maximizer to Satisfice you. Last week I got a text from Jolene, “U free?” The urgent request laid before my eyes were two swatches of white linen fabric, indistinguishable to the naked eye. Only an interior designer whose goal is the Absolute Best could note the faint and subtle differences between the two. Jolene is a Maximizer.
Choosing flooring, tile, paint, wallpaper, window treatment, hardware, furniture, rugs, bedding, lighting, accessories and making sure it all jives? A Maximizers full time occupation. If you’re a fellow Maximizer, from updating your bedding to ground up construction, it doesn’t take long to recognize the value of a seasoned Interior Designer like Jolene. To thwart that inevitable analysis paralysis and to know that you got the Absolute Best, do yourself a favor and work with an Interior Designer like Jolene.
Schwartz advises us that learning how to Satisfice is important to coping in a world of choice, and, to enjoying life. You’re the salt of the earth, the pick of the litter, the cat’s meow and just the very best of all bests! Let us Maximizers, Satisfice You, so you can get back to enjoying life.
Xo,
Sam
Join us next week as I press Jolene on how she knows when she’s crested that “Good Enough,” threshold, meeting the requirements, standards, vision, and budget of her clients. Hint, It’s a mix of art and science.
