I love dividing people into categories. Under-buyers and over-buyers. Eeyores and Tiggers. Abstainers and Moderators. Upholders, Questioners, Rebels, and Obligers.
A thoughtful reader and fellow lover of taxonomies, Dianne Volek, suggested a new system of categories. Let’s call the two types of people “Finishers and Openers.”
Do you get more satisfaction from…
- Throwing away a container or bottle after using the very last drop, or
- Opening a fresh new container
I’m a Finisher; my husband is an Opener. I love to extract the last tiny bit out of a tube of toothpaste, and he loves opening the new tube. True, I do love that first squeeze, and the first dip into a new jar of peanut butter, but I also enjoy using the very last bit of the old stuff. I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I use the last egg in a carton (as I did this morning).
Perhaps this explains the weird satisfaction I feel when something breaks or is worn out. Why do I like to see the worn spots on our sofa? Why do I like getting a hole in a pair of socks? Perhaps it’s my Finisher nature, delighting in the finish.
When I visited my sister a few weeks ago, I noticed that she had about twenty bottles of hair products in her shower. I suspect she’s an Opener.
I wonder if this is related to the distinction between Simplicity Lovers and Abundance Lovers.
Do these categories ring true for you? Are you a Finisher or an Opener?
From 2006 through 2014, as she wrote The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, Gretchen chronicled her thoughts, observations, and discoveries on The Happiness Project Blog.
