Appetizers are typically lower-quality food that we eat because we don’t have the patience or discipline to wait for the good stuff.

We trade quality for speed.

We trade value for speed.

 They aren’t needed – and they limit the satisfaction we would derive from waiting.  

No one goes to a restaurant for the appetizers.

Think about the other “appetizers” in your life.

Is impatience or a lack of discipline leading to temporary appeasement that adds little value? 

Do we text when we should call? Do we skim when we should read?

Eliminate your appetizers.

If multiple options exist, and you find yourself saying “they all look the same”, this should be a signal to you that your knowledge in the particular category is not very deep.

Things look the same to those who don’t know them or understand them very well.

At the time of this post, there are 60 inch TVs that range in price from $450 – $10,000. To the novice, they are all just 60 inch televisions. One with an intermediate level of knowledge may assess pixels, brightness, and connectivity. Experts will debate black levels, refresh rates, and more.

Time + Experience allow us to construct familiar reference points and then we can spot the nuanced differences more easily.