{"id":2040,"date":"2012-01-20T06:40:02","date_gmt":"2012-01-20T10:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=2040"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:47","slug":"are-you-a-maximizer-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2012\/01\/are-you-a-maximizer-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You a Maximizer? Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>We were waiting to pay for our groceries and realized we\u2019d forgotten the pasta for that evening\u2019s dinner party<\/strong>.\u00a0 I raced back down the aisle and\u2026 um\u2026 did you know there are over 50 different options for linguini alone?\u00a0 Which will our guests most prefer?\u00a0 Egg-free, whole wheat, organic, tomato or spinach-infused, fresh or traditional, generic or brand name\u2026??<br \/>\n<strong>By the time I returned to the checkout I was in a state of high anxiety from trying to make The Best Linguini Decision. <\/strong>\u201cDon\u2019t ever send me to the pasta aisle alone,\u201d I begged my wife.\u00a0 She just shook her head.<br \/>\n<strong>We\u2019re like this with clothes, too. <\/strong>If I need new pants they must be The Best Deal, so I check ads for sales, visit every rack in at least three stores, try on numerous pairs, then (finally) choose.\u00a0 Cheryl, on the other hand, will visit one store, try on maybe two pair, and buy one.\u00a0 Done.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #9400d3\">Maximizer versus Satisfier<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>When it comes to making decisions we all fall somewhere along the Maximizer-Satisfier scale.<\/strong> (to find where you land, <a title=\"Print and take the Maximizer Assessment\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/files\/2012\/01\/Maximizer.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">take this assessment<\/a>)<br \/>\n<strong>Maximizers need to be assured that every purchase or decision they make was the BEST possible.<\/strong> Yet how to know if any given option is the best?\u00a0 Research.\u00a0 Get more data.\u00a0 Delay the decision.\u00a0 Talk to friends.\u00a0 Make the decision, but\u2026 then worry about whether it was the absolute best choice.<br \/>\n<strong>Satisfiers simply want to make a GOOD decision. <\/strong>Like Maximizers, they set out to meet specific criteria in their decisions and purchases.\u00a0 The difference is that Satisfiers seek excellence, yet don\u2019t obsess over achieving the Absolute Best.\u00a0 Once they make a decision that is good enough, they never look back.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #9400d3\">Let Go to Feel Happier<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>A continual focus on making the absolute best decisions can be a core talent but, like any strength, can become a weakness when overused.<\/strong> We live in a world of seemingly infinite choices anymore.\u00a0 If you are unaware of your own drive to always make perfect decisions, you can end up generally unhappy because you\u2019re constantly shy of a near-impossible standard.<br \/>\n<strong>Other ideas to help Maximizers reduce the anxiety of decision-making:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Choose when to choose. <\/strong>Decide to restrict your options when the decision is not crucial.\u00a0 For example, make a rule to visit no more than two stores when shopping for clothing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Learn to accept \u201cgood enough.\u201d <\/strong>Settle for a choice that meets your core requirements rather than searching for the elusive \u201cbest.\u201d\u00a0 Then stop thinking about it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t worry about what you\u2019re missing. <\/strong>Consciously limit how much you ponder the seemingly attractive features of options you reject.\u00a0 Practice by focusing on the positive aspects of the choices you make.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Temper expectations. <\/strong>\u201cDon\u2019t expect too much, and you won\u2019t be disappointed\u201d is a clich\u00e9.\u00a0 But that advice is sensible if you want to be more satisfied with life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>I hold high standards for my work, but have learned that striving constantly to create perfection is not only exhausting but it tends to feed my procrastination. <\/strong>To counter my own Maximizer tendencies, I\u2019ve asked others for advice.\u00a0 Now, when I am working on non-critical project I remind myself that \u201c80% is good enough;\u201d and when it comes to meeting deadlines, I consider the words of thought leader <a href=\"http:\/\/sethgodin.typepad.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Seth Godin<\/a>, \u201cDone is better than perfect!\u201d<br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #9400d3\">Next: Maximizer and Satisfier in Leadership<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Take the Maximizer Assessment and then consider how you behave when faced with making a CHOICE &#8212; do you insist on always the Absolute Best, or are you okay with Good Enough for most decisions?  How you respond can predict the degree of stress you feel around exercising your freedom to choose! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,13,40,50],"tags":[179,362,363,41],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are You a Maximizer? Part 1 - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2012\/01\/are-you-a-maximizer-part-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You a Maximizer? 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