The marginal utility of Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies
I absolutely LOVE Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Sometimes, though, I'll absentmindedly eat way too many of them.
After all, they're pretty thin!
I’ve noticed that a very interesting thing happens when I do this:
Bite 1: Best thing in the world, ever.
Bites 2–10: Really good.
Bites 11–15: Good.
Bites 16–20: Meh.
Bites 21+: Okay, now I’m sick.
Of course, this phenomenon doesn’t only occur with cookies. This is a well-documented economic principle called Marginal Utility, and (you guessed it) it applies to money, too.
Just like cookies, beyond a certain point, having more money will not lead to more security, freedom, and happiness.
Fact.
The academic literature on that is clear.
My question is: Why do we devote so much of our time, energy, and attention to having more?
Wouldn’t we maybe be better off if, instead, we focused on having enough?