Why “Good Enough” Can Sometimes Make You Happier

I normally post these ‘Better You, Backed by Science‘ blogs on a Wednesday. Today is Thursday.

I’ve had a particularly busy week. I’ve been working hard on my new book, and I’ve also given talks on each of the past two evenings, with all the preparation and travel that goes with them.

Yesterday came and went and I completely forgot to write it. My first thought this morning was:

“I need to get it written and sent straight away.”

And then I remembered what I was planning to write about – Good enough. So I smiled. Thursday is good enough.

There’s actually some interesting psychology behind this.

In psychology, the secret to happiness often comes down to understanding two distinct approaches to decision-making: maximising and satisficing. While society tells us to always strive for the absolute best, research shows that learning to accept “good enough” is often the key to deeper satisfaction.

Maximising vs. Satisficing: What is the Difference?

Researchers sometimes distinguish between two approaches to making choices:

• A maximiser tends to search for the very best possible option.

• A satisficer looks for an option that meets what’s important to them – and when they find it, they allow it to be enough.

Imagine you’re choosing somewhere to eat.

A maximiser might read review after review, compare menus, check ratings, look at photographs and wonder whether there’s somewhere even better around the corner. A satisficer finds somewhere that looks nice, has food they like, and thinks: “This looks good” and goes inside.

The Paradox of Maximising

You might imagine that maximisers end up happier because they’ve worked harder to make the best choice. But research suggests it doesn’t always work that way.

People who have stronger maximising tendencies can experience more regret and be less satisfied with their decisions. They may continue wondering about all the options they didn’t choose.

Could I have found somewhere better?

And that’s the trap.

The search for something better can sometimes prevent us from enjoying something that’s already good.

When to Practice “Good Enough”

Importantly, though, this isn’t an argument against having high standards. There are things in life where striving for excellence really matters. It’s about recognising that not everything needs to be optimised.

• The email doesn’t always have to be perfect.

• The meal doesn’t have to be the best restaurant in town.

• The holiday doesn’t have to have the perfect itinerary.

• The thing you’re buying doesn’t always require another hour of reading reviews.

Of course, there’s a trade off.  Maximisers will often achieve an objectively superior outcome, but they will often feel less satisfied with it. That’s the paradox. “This is better, but I wonder if there’s something that’s even better than this.”

For example, there was a study of students in the final year of school who were looking for jobs. The maximisers actually obtained jobs that paid around 20% more, but they were less satisfied than the satisficers with the jobs they obtained.

Sometimes good really is good enough.

Try This

So here’s something to try this week.

Notice one low-stakes decision where you would normally keep searching, comparing or tweaking.

And when you’ve found an option that meets what genuinely matters, try saying:

“That’s good enough.”

Then stop looking.

Choose it.

Enjoy it.

Move on with your day.

Because perhaps one of the secrets to a happier life isn’t always getting the very best.

Sometimes it’s recognising when what we already have is good enough.

References

A classic maximising vs satisficing paper. Link.

The student job search study. Link.

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