For many decisions, any amount of thinking is overthinking

A prime example: "What will I order for dinner?" If there's a question among N options, then they appear about equally good according to different criteria. The consequences are minor — the (dis)pleasure of one night's meal. Nobody else is likely to care much

The unreasonable usefulness of rereading things I have already written

I did an exercise recently over two consecutive days, a Wednesday and Thursday, where I wrote down experiences I might like to have on a date. I ended up with a little over 5 notebook pages (perhaps A5 paper size?) of ideas. Later in the week, I ended up journaling

I can't fix wretchedness, I can only be with it, and that sucks

Some people are hard to love in the sense that they do not believe or accept love when it is offered. I've known people like this and I know other people report similar experiences. They are (in Visa's sense) wretched, down bad, not forever but at

Bad moods are unnecessary, I shouldn't have them, and wish I didn't --- and that wish might be why I keep having them

There's a line early in Pema Chödron's Living Beautifully that stuck out to me where she says (citing a neuroscientist) that emotions naturally last only a few seconds — that (as I understood it) we prolong emotions by our own choice. That rings true to me. There

My life story hinges on reading one fanfiction when I was fourteen, and this feels strange, but I guess it's okay

It amazes me how much of my life is downstream of reading a Harry Potter fanfiction for the lulz on a whim when I was fourteen. 1. I had been decidedly Christian; I became an atheist because of that fanfiction, first briefly then lastingly. 2. I had been raised conservative,