Maximizer Problems

Are You Stressed From Too Many Choices?

🔥 More Options = More Regret. Let’s Talk Psychology. 🧠 Swipe right on one date, and now you’re haunted by the 50 you didn’t pick. Sound familiar? Yeah — that’s the cost of being a “maximizer.” (Hi, that’s me. I’m in recovery.) A 2019 study in Psychological Science found that maximizers — people obsessed with finding the perfect choice — are more stressed and less satisfied than “satisficers,” who just pick something good enough and move on. Spoiler alert: satisficers are happier. There’s also a 2020 study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that showed satisficers make faster decisions and feel better overall. Translation: your coffee order isn’t your personality, and overanalyzing your playlist won’t make your life any deeper. It’ll just give you decision burnout. This is real — cognitive load theory explains that your brain can only juggle so much before it taps out. And every “maybe” is costing you peace of mind. You wanna feel better? ✅ Stop chasing the best ✅ Pick what’s good enough ✅ Move the hell on This isn’t settling — it’s surviving.