U.S. Senator Mark Kelly

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona held an exclusive call with VoteVets, which was live-streamed on the VoteVets YouTube channel. Kelly had plenty to say about Donald Trump‘s conduct of his new Iran War, as well as affordability and other issues here at home. Kelly’s high-profile appearance raises the question of whether he wants to run for president, and if so, what his chances are.

Sen. Kelly has an impressive record of service to America. The son of two police officers and member of a military family, he served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years as a test pilot and aviator, earning numerous medals. During Operation Desert Storm (the 1990-91 Gulf War against Iraq), he flew 39 combat missions over Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Then Kelly became a NASA space shuttle pilot and commander aboard shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. In 2011, Kelly’s wife, U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head and critically wounded by a gunman who killed six people and wounded 12 others in an assassination attempt. During her recovery, she and Mark started Americans for Responsible Solutions (now the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence).

Kamala Harris, target of maximizers

In the psychology field, there is a concept known as being a “satisficer” versus being a “maximizer”. According to The Balanced WorkLife Company, a satisfier (we’re going to use this spelling because it’s much more common) is someone whose:

satisfaction is judged by meeting the standards they have in place. To them time and energy is considered a waste if there is a reasonable option ready for the taking. Satisfi[]ers don’t necessarily have low standards; they can be super picky or want the top brand.

In contrast, according to the company:

Maximizers are satisfied by researching as many options as they can. They sacrifice time and effort into learning as much about the “offer” as possible. They consider all the variations, advantages, and weaknesses. When the decision is final, they then compare it to the choices those around them made. The question on the maximizer’s mind is “Is there something better out there?”

In simple terms, we like to think about satisfiers as choosing among the readily available options, and being happy with their best choice, even if they know it’s not perfect. Maximizers, on the other hand, are more like perfectionists, who obsess over every detail, and need everything to be just right. As one can imagine, such perfection is almost never achieved, and as a result, according to the book The Paradox of Choice, as cited by The Balanced WorkLife Company, “maximizers experience significantly less life satisfaction, happiness, optimism, and self-esteem.”