My weakness at B&N is the bargain books. Gets me every time. The book only
costs a few bucks, how could I go wrong?

And then it sits on my shelf, mocking me.

Completely understand the Amazon list! My book lists keep adding up. I am not to be trusted with a credit card at Barnes & Noble :)

Thanks a lot for the book recommendation!

You know, I haven't heard about that particular issue, but I do know of a
similar phenomenon then you may be interested in. In my article about
psychology tests, I have a video where Dr. Philip Zimbardo brings up a
similar issue in his talk about time orientation. One thing he mentions is
that the drop out rate for physical therapy is something like 50% (I may be
wrong here, but it is a high number). The point he makes is he is very
“future oriented” – so when he hurt his shoulder, he went to physical
therapy, struggled and suffered in pain for a small period of time because
he could picture a future when he would have full use of his shoulder again.
He hypothesizes that “present oriented” people, whose decisions factor the
present in more than the future, are more likely to drop out of physical
therapy because they don't project themselves into the future – and instead
make the decision based on the pain and discomfort of physical therapy.

I'll add Change or Die to my Amazon wishlist, though to be honest I
constantly struggle to get through all the books on it =). Every few months
I'll skim it, pick out a few books that catch my interest and order them -
and this one sounds really intriguing! I think that Change Or Die is a book
I would really enjoy, and learn a lot from.

I had a blast writing on Zen Habits, definitely a highlight for me – thank
you so much for your comment, and I'm glad you're enjoying the articles here
too =)

Thanks for your comment!

You know, you're right – I never looked at it from the perspective of being
limiting, but as you mentioned some people may see it that way. I see it as
ensuring I am able and committed – and if I'm not, then getting myself into
the right mindset before I take something on half heartedly.

Thanks for being a regular reader and commenting, I really appreciate you
sharing your thoughts and constructive discussion – it's makes the articles
better having readers like you.

LOL. I love the wording of “kids these days” but you're right – being
raised in a way that celebrates everything and downplays any chance of
failure *is* a big problem. Facing failure, defeat, losing and straining
against obstacles when you are young prepares you for the “bigger” obstacles
as an adult – where the world isn't easy, and you will have to spend time
chasing things without any encouragement or glory.

Do I want to change X? That is a good question that you bring up here. If we want to have something changed, but don't want to go through the process of changing it, that doesn't make sense. I think many of us want to have X in our life be Y, but don't want to convert X to Y through our effort.

Some would say those questions you ask there are limiting, but they are not, as asking yourself about if you can handle the various parts of making a change keeps you from starting to make changes you won't be able to keep up with. It isn't worth trying to quit smoking if you see that you don't have plans set up to not return to the habit.

Wonderful flowchart there~