The mental model “seek satisfaction, not perfection” encourages us to aim for a point where our efforts produce satisfactory results, rather than pursuing unattainable perfection. The idea is to focus on meaningful progress rather than getting trapped in endless refinement.
This aligns closely with the Law of Diminishing Returns, which states that after a certain point, additional effort yields progressively smaller benefits. When you push for perfection, you often expend more time and energy without significantly improving the outcome, missing opportunities to pursue other tasks or goals.
Why Satisfaction Matters
1. Time and Resource Efficiency: Seeking satisfaction allows you to allocate resources where they have the most impact. Instead of chasing perfection, you can move on to other important tasks, maximizing your productivity.
2. Avoiding Burnout: Perfectionism can lead to burnout and frustration, as the pursuit of flawlessness often feels never-ending. Seeking satisfaction helps maintain a healthy balance between high standards and realistic outcomes.
3. Encouraging Iteration: Rather than perfecting one project, you can deliver a satisfactory result and iterate later if needed. This approach mirrors agile development, where progress is made through incremental improvements.
The Law of Diminishing Returns in Practice
Imagine you’re working on a project, such as designing a product or writing an article. In the beginning, every hour of work yields significant improvements. But after reaching a certain quality threshold, additional tweaks contribute less and less to the overall outcome. This is the point of diminishing returns.
Instead of striving for perfection, recognize when your efforts are producing diminishing results. At this stage, it’s more productive to wrap up and move on to new tasks, where your time and energy can be more effective.
Conclusion
Embracing the mental model of “seek satisfaction, not perfection” helps balance high standards with practical limitations. Paired with the Law of Diminishing Returns, it teaches us that perfect is rarely achievable or necessary. By focusing on satisfactory results, we free ourselves from the exhaustion of over-optimization and maximize our efficiency, energy, and overall success.
