The More, The Scarier?

"As incredible as it sounds, having more choices can actually detract from happiness." - Ed Diener

Diener goes on to talk about two types of people: "satisficers" who have a minimum threshold for what is acceptable to them, and "maximizers" who strive to get the very best out of every decision.

"The funny thing is, although maximizers sometimes achieve better outcomes than satisficers - getting a bit more money for that recording contract, for instance - they also tend to be less happy with their achievements. In fact, they turn out to be less happy in general. Maximizers, according to a series of studies, are lower than satisficers in happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and higher in depression and regret!"

"Satisficers want good doctors and good cars as well, but they understand that there is a personal threshold that will be acceptable to them. They also understand that there is often little difference between the 'best' and alternatives, and that there are costs in searching for the very best."