Folly
The Heron
The fable
A heron stalked the shallows one morning with the whole stream to choose from. A fat carp swam past — but the heron was not in the mood for carp. A fine perch followed — too common; a bird of her standing could do better. So the morning passed, fish by rejected fish, until the sun climbed high and the fish sank to the cool deep, out of reach. By evening the famished heron was grateful to snap up a single small snail. The stream had offered a banquet; her standards had eaten it.
The moral: Do not be too choosy, or you may go without.
The same moment, today
You get home late and open the delivery apps. You skip the burger place, the decent tacos, the diner that always gets the fries right. You read reviews and keep searching for something great. It is 9:40, and kitchens start closing at ten. You refresh and watch options drop off. More icons flip to "closed now." Your stomach growls while you are still reading menu copy. You end up with crackers and peanut butter at the counter, still a little proud you did not settle.
The heron stands on one leg and waves off a fat fish. It tells itself a better one will pass. Then a thin eel slides by the cattails, it lunges, and misses. The light is already fading over the bend in the stream. We do this when we reject good choices while holding out for perfect ones, and we call it standards. It is pride and fear of regret, and it leaves us hungry.
The lesson
Decide your floor before you start, and set a time limit. When you hit either, take the good thing in front of you.
Science has measured this
Iyengar and Lepper, 2000
In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper ran a field study at Draeger’s Market in Menlo Park. Some days they set a table with twenty-four flavors of jam. Other days they put out just six. The big table drew more tasters, about sixty percent of shoppers. The small table drew fewer, about forty percent. But when it came time to buy, the numbers flipped. Only about three percent bought from the large display, while about thirty percent bought from the small one. Faced with too many chances for a perfect pick, people walked away with nothing.
A small reminder, on a lunchbox or a laptop, that taking the decent fish now beats waiting proudly as the light fades and the water goes still.
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