The Psychology of Completion
I’m narrowing in on getting to call several on-going projects complete. My 10G set is about 80% complete if you don’t count the 1879/7 variety. My Queen’s Beast sets are getting into about that same 80% range and several of the parts / sub-series of my Zimbabwe hyperinflation set are getting to be about 85-92% complete by pick number. Most of these sets are missing only 1-3 issues before they’re 100% complete registry sets.
One thing I’ve been noticing lately is that, as I narrow in on the end, each new purchase feels a lot more satisfying than they did in the beginning.
When I started my 10G set I bought 4 coins for it in one or two months of a summer, but I don’t think I found those four purchases quite as satisfying and fulfilling even as adding that 1880. Granted, those 4 coins were the more common dates where the 1880 was semi-key, but I don’t think that was it. Buying the White lions for my Queen’s Beasts sets recently just felt good in a way that buying the Griffins (2nd coin of 10) just didn’t a few years ago.
There’s just something about narrowing in on the win.
I’m feeling this somewhat keenly with the Zimbabwe set recently with several big recent wins for my 1st dollar set. I joke with my wife that I’ve been telling myself for 8 months now that I was going to step back on this set and focus on other things but I feel myself compelled to keep driving forward as some key milestones for the set creep closer. You keep going for that next note just because it gets you just a little. bit. closer.
There’s a P-3c out there for sale that would easily be the most expensive note I’ve ever bought for this set if I pulled the trigger and yet I find myself somewhat tempted just because that is the last pick number I don’t have a representative piece for in my 1st dollar set and it would make my main 1st dollar competitive set 100% complete. On the flip side though, I’m realizing that the road ahead on that set might yet be somewhat larger than I thought it was.
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