Satisfied
Feeling satisfied means something met what you wanted or needed: a meal that hit the spot, a finished project, a choice you don't second-guess. The search stops, and you don't miss it.
- On the wheel: Calm, then content, then satisfied
- Nearby: Accomplished, comfortable, at ease
- Opposite: Regretful, still searching
- Often points to: A need that was met
Closing the tab
Satisfied is a full stop. The itch to look for something better goes quiet, and you close the tab, push back from the table, or put the finished thing down and leave it alone.
"I bought the second couch I looked at. It's comfortable, the color's fine, and I haven't thought about couches since. My sister is still on her fourth store."
Maximizers and satisficers
The idea goes back to economist Herbert Simon's work on how people make decisions.1 Psychologists now sort people by two styles. Maximizers look for the best possible option. Satisficers look for one that's good enough, and then they stop.2
People who scored higher on maximizing reported less happiness, optimism and life satisfaction, and more regret, across a set of studies by Barry Schwartz and colleagues.2 They were less satisfied with things they'd bought, too, and compared themselves with others more.2
Most of those findings were correlations, so they can't show that maximizing causes the unhappiness.
20 percent more pay, and less happy with it
Sheena Iyengar, Rachael Wells and Barry Schwartz followed college seniors through a year of job hunting, and the students who scored high on maximizing landed jobs with starting salaries about 20 percent higher.1
They liked those jobs less.1 They felt worse during the search, too.1 The researchers linked this to how much the maximizers relied on outside information and how fixed they stayed on the options they hadn't taken.1
How you got there, and whether you kept looking back, mattered as well as how good the job was.
Good enough versus settling
Contentment is broader and calmer than satisfaction: "life is enough right now," where satisfied says "that met what I wanted" about one thing. Settling is the one to watch for. It means taking less than you need and calling it good enough.
Good enough applies to wants. If a choice leaves out something you truly need, like safety or respect, you've settled.
Choosing so you can stop choosing
- Write your "good enough" line first. Before you shop or search, list two or three things the choice must have. Stop at the first option that has them.
- Limit the search. Pick a number: three apartments, two stores, one evening of reading reviews.
- Close the door after you choose. Stop checking prices and other options. That ongoing comparison was part of what wore down maximizers in the job study.1
- Save maximizing for what matters most. A surgeon, a car seat, a lease. For socks and phone cases, good enough is fine.
What went the way you wanted it to recently? Write what made it good enough, and whether you let yourself enjoy it or kept looking for better.
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask about feeling satisfied
What does it mean to be satisfied?
Something met your wants or needs, so you're done looking for more of it for now. A meal, a decision and a day's work can all leave you satisfied.
What is the difference between satisfied and content?
Satisfied points at one thing. Content is a quieter sense that things are fine as they are. One good meal can make you satisfied on a day you don't feel content at all.
Is it bad to always want the best?
It can be, and it has a cost. In the research, people who aimed for the best option across the board tended to feel less satisfied and more regretful, even when they got better results.1,2 If the regret is what's left, see regret.
Related
- Contentment: the broader sense of enough.
- Proud: the feeling after effort that paid off.
- Regret: wishing you'd chosen differently.