What’s the secret behind Mark Zuckerberg’s same ‘gray T-shirt look’: The surprising psychology of success

One of the biggest problems one faces while going for work in the morning is what to wear. Standing at an edge where clothes sometimes become the indicator of professionalism or even sometimes ‘looking cool’ gains top priority, the giant social networking site Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg years back remarked, “I’m not a cool person, and I’ve never really tried to be cool,” when asked as to why the billionaire chose to repeat outfits.

He not only gave science-backed reasons, rather his answer actually showed a repetitive pattern, that defines success. Here's how...

The classic ‘Gray T-Shirt’ billionaire:

When Mark Zuckerberg steps onto a stage or into a boardroom, he’s almost always wearing the same thing: a gray T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes. If taken at face value, it may look like a ‘quirky signature style’, but beyond that, it’s part of a revolution that transforms the way successful people approach life’s everyday decisions.

Zuckerberg’s reason for looking ‘boring’:

When Zuckerberg was asked the reason behind repeating the same gray T-shirt again and again, his reply stated, “I really want to clear my life so that I have to make as few decisions as possible, other than how to best serve this community,” indicating that for him, clothing isn’t a statement rather it’s a strategy. Not only with outfit, his principle with designing Facebook remains quite similar. When asked, he mentioned, “My goal was never to make Facebook cool.

I’m not a cool person, and I’ve never really tried to be cool.”

Every day, an adult faces thousands of decisions-what to eat, when to wake up, which route to take, and yes, what to wear. Psychologists call this exhaustion: decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is a phenomenon that describes how people’s decision-making abilities become weaker after making many choices throughout the day. Over time, after making the series of choices, mental resources don’t work as efficiently as they are supposed to.

To understand this simply, it’s much like a phone battery running low which makes each subsequent decision harder and more error-prone. By automating the choice of what to wear, it reduces the cognitive load caused by decision fatigue. This small but significant simplification blocks unnecessary mental exhaustion, allowing one to devote one’s focus and energy to critical decisions.

Zuckerberg is not alone..

If observed carefully, Zuckerberg is not alone following this style-game.

If one wants to be more surprised, searching Steve Jobs on Google can add more sense to this logic. Almost all the pictures of him are wearing a black turtleneck like a routine. On the other hand, Barack Obama preferred only blue or gray suits, consciously avoiding style choices to conserve his decision-making abilities for matters of state.

Even Albert Einstein reportedly bought multiple versions of his suits, sidestepping fashion choices in favor of mental focus. Each of these leaders understood the psychological burden of too many options and chose simplicity to maximize their greatest asset: Attention.

What to learn from this classic style strategy: