The things we go back to
If you’re used to a messy desk, cleaning it will probably be a temporary measure.
Credit card companies have discovered that if a person carries $2,000 in debt with a $3,000 credit limit, they’ll probably have $4,000 in debt if the credit limit gets raised to $5,000.
People who live with drama at work will almost certainly invent new drama (of any scale) if the existing drama fades away.
The world is real, and opportunities and pain are unfairly and unevenly distributed. At the same time, our narrative and our habits are real as well, and they work to prove themselves right.
We organize our lives to maintain the pressures and boundaries we’re used to. We’d like to pretend we’re just going to bear with it until we get through this urgency, but we’re usually lying to ourselves.
A new habit takes at least thirty uncomfortable days to form, and a new habit is unrelated to the external forces (positive and negative) that we’re so good at finding and embracing.