restraint.
“I’m actually as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done.” — Steve Jobs.
It flies in the face of Twain:
“The only things you will regret are the things you didn’t do”
Both should be carefully contemplated. I currently regret very little, but I have regretted much in the past. It passes through me and over me, leaving – ideally – only the lessons of the [in]action. My exercise of restraint is actually one of the things I am most aware of, and pleased with. I have demonstrated to myself – if not to others – that I am capable of saying no to something when I know that it should be denied, no matter how strong the desire, the emotions, or even the chemicals inside me cry out to be acknowledged and indulged. I can’t say it’s for everyone. I have definitely had my moments of weakness where I wished that I didn’t seem to operate this way, having a kind of auto-pilot rainbow guardian watching over the optimization of my wants and ensuring adherence.
But then I would say that resolve exists to be tested.
