Driven Crazy By Indecision

The concept of “satisificing” and how I decided which electric car to buy

Anyone close to me knows that I have a hard time making decisions. I’m often teased for it, as my indecision is usually around the small, inconsequential things. Whether or not to buy the overpriced magazine, whether or not to say yes to a social plan, where to go for my birthday dinner, etc. The indecision is largely based on spending decisions or, in the context of others, catering to my people pleasing tendencies.

A handful of years ago, my work friends and I were on a Target shopping run during our lunch break. I remembered I needed Q-tips, so they followed me to the aisle and patiently waited as I stood there, scanning all the different options. I was annoyed that Target’s price stickers didn’t show the per-unit price breakdown, as that’s often how I pick an everyday toiletry item when I’m not feeling particularly brand loyal. 

My friend laughed at me about that for months to come, teasing me about how I couldn’t decide which Q-tip to buy. I chuckle at the memory now, as it is so typically me. 

While it’s easy to laugh about that, decision-making can become a lot more stressful when there’s more money or time at stake.

Oddly enough, I’ve often found it easy to make the big decisions—choosing where to go to college, taking new job offers, buying my house.

However, when I was unexpectedly forced into looking for a new car a few months ago, I found myself stopped in my tracks, overwhelmed with where to start and constantly second-guessing myself.

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Earlier this year I wrote about embracing self-assuredness in 2024, since I struggled with a lot of self-doubt in 2023. So I suppose it should come as no surprise that the car shopping journey was complicated for me.

You see, I’ve known without a doubt that I wanted my next car to be an EV (electric vehicle). However, where I live doesn’t currently give me the ability to charge said car so it’s more complicated.

I’ve also never bought a car on my own before (my dad was a very strong influence in the two Honda Civics I had in the past), let alone an electric one. So from day one I knew it would require a lot of research. I’m fortunate to have my brother, an OG EV owner, who helped guide me a lot in this process. 

I began with a culled-down list of 14 electric crossovers/SUVs currently available for sale. Me being an analyst, I figured I’d make a spreadsheet to research all the key features I was looking for on all these cars and start to narrow the list down that way. I spent the better part of a few hours working on this, feeling like I had made progress, albeit slowly.

It proved to be a lot of work but I figured I was getting somewhere. Then at dinner a few days later, my partner told me about the concept of satisficing, which proved to be a game changer for me mentally.

As Wikipedia defines it, “Satisficing is a decision-making strategy or cognitive heuristic that entails searching through the available alternatives until an acceptability threshold is met.”

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Put more simply, you can make a decision by exhaustively exploring the features or qualities of every possible option to ensure you’re picking the best thing, or you can “satisfice” and pick something that first fits your criteria. Research shows that people are generally happier with their decisions when made via satisficing, rather than maximizing, their needs. 

While researching this concept, I came across this diagram that crystallizes it so well:

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Of course I was seeking perfection! No wonder it felt so exhausting, making that spreadsheet. So I changed course and took my partner’s advice to focus on the car that most spoke to me so far. 

Here’s where trusting my instincts came in.

There was one car in particular that had caught my eye—I loved how they looked when I saw them driving around town. But I wasn’t listening to that signal for some reason, probably because I thought looks weren't the most important quality. 

Instead, I was focused on all the noise around me, both internally from my inner critic/protective warrior, and externally from people I know or research sources.

But since doubling down on the search for this particular car, I found that it perfectly satisficed my wants and needs. Was it the perfect option? Maybe not. But it perfectly satisficed.

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As I reflected on why this process was so challenging for me, I reminded myself that I bought a house, for goodness sake, so I’m perfectly capable of making big financial decisions.

What was different about that decision though? Why didn’t I struggle with it as much? 

When I bought my house, it was the tail end of 2020 and I was surrounded by so much less noise. Compared to now, the amount of people I interacted with in a day was far fewer.

You see, I’m an external processor. Part of the way I make decisions or formulate my opinions is by feeling them out while talking out loud to someone. I don't actually ask for someone’s opinion that often, but by expressing my thought process aloud, I receive opinions and feedback whether I want it or not. 

And this time around, I got a lot of it as I talked to people about cars and reacted to their biases or opinions or tones of voice. It was exhausting to keep reorienting myself amongst all this noise.

During my home buying journey years ago, I was surprised to discover that I liked a townhome (my now home!) more than all the single family homes I was looking at. I felt that I “should” want the single family home more, because that is the image of home ownership that our society encodes in us—the American Dream, white picket fence of it all. 

But since I was single at the time, I found that a smaller yard with the means of an HOA to support the external upkeep of the home was a very attractive option. My townhome was also in a much better location that I already knew and loved, as it was less than a mile away from the apartment I lived in. 

So I listened to my gut instinct and went for it. I remember a close friend asking me, “What if you lose your job? How are you going to support a mortgage all by yourself?” Looking back, I had no qualms about that. I just went for it, and confidently told her, “well then, I’ll figure it out.” I wasn’t going to let the “what ifs” stop me from going after what I wanted. 

So why then did I struggle with those so much now, over a much (relatively) smaller purchase? The “what ifs” haunted me in my sleep. What if I get laid off from my job and can’t charge at work? What if the public charging stations aren’t as reliable as I thought? What if I can’t convince the HOA to invest in charging infrastructure? What if, what if, what if.

It was wearing me out and I decided I was done with it! I worked on reframing my worries into what's the best that could happen?

What if I do convince the HOA to invest in charging infrastructure, and it increases the value of our homes and encourages some of my neighbors to go electric? What if I inspire that same courage among others in the community? What if charging around town is easier than I think and fits into my lifestyle without many changes? 

So maybe by conventional logic I “should” only get an EV if I have the charging infrastructure at home today, but I thoroughly researched where else to charge and fortunately have the means to do so at my office. I knew it would require a reframing of how I’m used to driving, as well as flexibility in my routine, but I’m excited to make the change. Because if not now, then when?

One thing I said a couple times to myself during this process is, just because something is abnormal doesn't mean it's crazy. Oftentimes this is when the most impactful change occurs.

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Things quickly fell into place after I wrote most of this yesterday. Quite serendipitously, the exact car I was searching for popped up at a local CarMax, located just 20 minutes away from me instead of the thousands of miles I was contemplating paying shipping for.

My heart started beating faster as I clicked into the listing, trying not to get too excited.

Alas, the car was available and met all my specs except for the color—it was a dark midnight blue instead of the black pearlescent I had wanted. But did that matter? I knew it was at least worth looking at.

Fast forward to today and I’m happy to say that I bought it! I am now a proud EV owner. (It also happens to be my half birthday which somehow feels fitting for this milestone.)

So here’s to being self-assured with my decision and being proud I let my instincts (literally) drive it. 🎉