Take the test. How do you measure up?

Posted on by Live & Learn

Maximizer or satificer

91 total points. (If you are higher than 45, you are a Maximizer.)

“Most people fall somewhere in the middle.”

“Maximizers” like to take their time and weigh a wide range of options—sometimes every possible one—before choosing. “Satisficers” would rather be fast than thorough; they prefer to quickly choose the option that fills the minimum criteria (the word “satisfice” blends “satisfy” and “suffice”).

“Maximizers are people who want the very best. Satisficers are people who want good enough,”

“Maximizers landed better jobs. Their starting salaries were, on average, 20% higher than those of the satisficers, but they felt worse about their jobs.”

“Satisficers also have high standards, but they are happier than maximizers, he says. Maximizers tend to be more depressed and to report a lower satisfaction with life”

My Score: 60. (Oh Boy)

Read full article in wsj.com: How You Make Decisions Says a Lot About How Happy You Are

23 thoughts on “Take the test. How do you measure up?”

    1. 45 = Normal.

      Normal isn’t necessarily…

      The moment we admit the possibility of attaining contemplative insights— and of training one’s mind for that purpose— we must acknowledge that people naturally fall at different points on a continuum between ignorance and wisdom. Part of this range will be considered “normal ,” but normal isn’t necessarily a happy place to be. Just as a person’s physical body and abilities can be refined—Olympic athletes are not normal —one’s mental life can deepen and expand on the basis of talent and training. This is nearly self- evident, but it remains a controversial point. No one hesitates to admit the role of talent and training in the context of physical and intellectual pursuits; I have never met another person who denied that some of us are stronger, more athletic, or more learned than others. But many people find it difficult to acknowledge that a continuum of moral and spiritual wisdom exists or that there might be better and worse ways to traverse it.

      ~ Sam Harris, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (Simon & Schuster. 2014)

      1. Wow. I’ve only had to read that half a dozen times, and I appreciate it more each time. i love it actually. And yet, I still want to say I am not sure where to put all this, but then I wonder too much about where that lands me on this continuum.

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