Ray's Daily

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

Lao Tzu

I’ll tell you one of the things that drives me crazy is shopping with friends who spend an inordinate amount of time examining everything they pick up, judging content, color, ingredients, everything! Then only to put whatever it is down and pick up something else and doing the same thing adding a comparison between the two before moving on. I don’t know if they are afraid to make a decision they think might be wrong or that the investment in time to try and find the even better product is worth the effort.

I know some folks think it is a guy thing to want to get to the buying step and it is a girl thing to shop and often not buy anything. For me I have seen both behave the same way. I am glad that I have learned to be satisfied with something that does what I want it to do without regard to alternatives.

What bothers me is that most of us truly have better things to do than spending hours with seldom any real gain. I learned I am not alone, here is what bestselling author Gretchen Rubin wrote some time ago on the subject.

Happiness Myth: You’ll Be Happier If You Insist on “The Best.”

Maybe not. As Barry Schwartz explains in his fascinating book, The Paradox of Choice, there are two types of decision makers. Satisficers (yes, satisficers) make a decision once their criteria are met; when they find the hotel or the pasta sauce that has the qualities they want, they’re satisfied. Maximizers want to make the best possible decision; even if they see a bicycle that meets their requirements, they can’t make a decision until they’ve examined every option.

Studies suggest that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers. Maximizers expend more time and energy reaching decisions, and they’re often anxious about their choices. They find the research process exhausting, yet can’t let themselves settle for anything but the best.

I’m a satisficer, and I often felt guilty about not doing more research before making decisions. In law school, one friend interviewed with fifty law firms before she decided where she wanted to go as a summer associate; I think I interviewed with six. We ended up at the same firm. Once I learned to call myself a “satisficer,” I felt more satisfied with my approach to decision-making; instead of feeling lazy and unconscientious, I could call myself prudent.

It’s one of the Secrets of Adulthood: Most decisions don’t require extensive research. In some situations, the happier course is to know when good enough is good enough, and not to worry about making the perfect choice.

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“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”

Leo Tolstoy

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You know you’re a nurse if……

You would like to meet the inventor of the call light in a dark alley one night.

You believe not all patients are annoying. Some are unconscious.

You know the phone numbers of every late night food delivery place in town by heart.

You can only tell time with a 24 hour clock

When asked, “What color is the patient’s diarrhea?” You show them your shoes.

Every time you walk, you make a rattling noise because of all the scissors and clamps in your pockets.

You can tell the pharmacist more about the medicines he is dispensing than he can.

You carry spare meds in your pocket rather than wait for pharmacy to deliver.

You check the caller ID when the phone rings on your day off to see if someone from work is trying to call to ask you to work.

You notice that you use more four letter words now than before you became a nurse.

Every time someone asks you for a pen, you can find at least three of them on you.

You live by the motto, “To be right is only half the battle, to convince the physician is more difficult.”

Eating microwave popcorn out of a clean bedpan is perfectly natural.

When checking the level of orientation of a patient…you aren’t sure of the answer.

You can sleep soundly at the hospital cafeteria table during dinner, break, sitting up and not be embarrassed when you wake up.

You’ve sworn you’re going to have NO CODE tattooed on your chest.

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You can tell it’s a new era.  Most doctors now tell people who get sick at night to take two aspirins and e-mail them in the morning.

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A young Army private seeks permission from his commanding officer to leave camp the following weekend. “You see,” he explains, “my wife’s expecting.”

“I understand,” the officer tells him. “You go, and tell your wife that I wish her luck.”

The following week the same soldier is back again with the same explanation: “My wife’s expecting.”

The officer looks surprised. “Still expecting?” he asks. “Well, well, my boy, you must be pretty bothered. Of course you can have the weekend off.”

When the same soldier appears again the third week, however, the officer loses his temper.

“Don’t tell me your wife is still expecting,” he says.

“Yes, sir,” says the soldier resolutely. “She’s still expecting.”

“What in heaven is she expecting?” cries the officer.

Says the soldier simply, “Me.”

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Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

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A boy is about to go on his first date, and is nervous about what to talk about. He asks his father for advice. The father replies: “My son, there are three subjects that always work. These are food, family, and philosophy.”

The boy picks up his date and they go to a soda fountain. Ice cream sodas in front of them, they stare at each other for a long time, as the boy’s nervousness builds, he remembers his father’s advice, and chooses the first topic. He asks the girl: “Do you like potato pancakes?”

She says “No,” and the silence returns.

After a few more uncomfortable minutes, the boy thinks of his father’s suggestion and turns to the second item on the list. He asks, “Do you have a brother?”

Again, the girl says “No” and there is silence once again.

The boy then plays his last card. He thinks of his father’s advice and asks: “If you had a brother, would he like potato pancakes?”

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Like a lot of husbands throughout history, Webster would sit down and try to talk to his wife.  But as soon as he would start to say something, his wife would say,”. . .And what’s that supposed to mean?” Thus, Webster’s Dictionary was born.

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Happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, love… All these things work the same way. The more you search for them, the less likely you are to find them.

Patrick Rone

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Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.

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