Inertia seems to be everything

[flexagon]

Once I actually work on my side project, I want to work on it again soon. A countertop that has clutter on it will accumulate more clutter. Some say that money attracts more money; it's obvious that getting one cat is a gateway to getting more cats. It's a bad idea to think about this too much -- I could start thinking that EVERYTHING is addictive.

If you feel like reading a link, check out The unmistakable freedom of contentment. I find it pretty interesting to think of developing contentment as a practice or goal in itself. I've always viewed it as an emergent property that happens when things align just right. I wonder why I'm fine with the idea of working on happiness, or gratitude, but surprised at the idea of working on contentment. Something subtle is going on there.

Comments

[flexagon]

Wanting to be able to do X can cause stress just the same as wanting to buy X, no? What is the fundamental difference? Certainly one can suffer from an overextended grasp for knowledge.

I get your point and it's a good one, but there are some differences I can think of:
* Wanting to be or do something inspires continued focused effort, rather than a purchase. Continuing focused effort is likely to be more leading to happy life during that time (states of flow and all that kind of thing).
* Closet space. Seriously.