Struggle with the Best

It's hard to deny yourself "The Best". We are taught in our society to always strive for the best, never settle for less than the best. And Madison Avenue uses this against us.

Would you like Model A, or Model A-Deluxe. Well, of course I should have the most, best that I can possibly afford, so bring on Model A-Deluxe. But wait, we just got in the Model A-Supreme -- is that something you're interested in? Why yes, I can see the need for having a Model A-Supreme, not sure what the need is, but I'm sure I have it.

Stepping away from this mentality is extremely difficult. Intellectually, I am well aware that I really don't need the A-Supreme, but it's only $50 more. What if I find I need one of the features it has? What then? Even as I intellectual try to move away from having to have the absolute best, I get sucked back in. It's a very clever trick.

I had to buy a microwave for the apartment. Do I buy the .8 cubic ft microwave, the 1.0 cubic ft, or the 1.2 cubic ft (thankfully I had ruled myself out of the 2.0 / 2.2 cubic ft microwave ovens). The .8 is adequate. The 1.2 is actually mid-range and the 1.0 is the top of the line here. Stainless steel, industrial design. Lots of options.

After an extremely long struggle (I think I went back and forth at least 4-5 times), I thought I had settled that all I really "needed" was the .8 cft microwave. But was it big enough? What if I couldn't fit my plate in it? And it had half the power of the 1.2 cubic ft micro. I ended up getting the 1.2 microwave. 1.2 cubic ft, 1300 W, black, lots of options. It was at least $10 cheaper than the 1.0 cubic ft stainless steel microwave, but $30 more than the .8 (which is probably all I needed).

Let me restate: Stepping away from this mentality is EXTREMELY difficult. I felt like at least I didn't get the most expensive one. That's a positive step in the right direction.