Humans tend to have a near infinite capacity for creativity when it comes to reducing their own workload, be it physical, moral, or emotional labor. The funny bit is often times we don’t even really know we’re doing it, we just think we’re being clever, and not just lazy. I say this with the firsthand knowledge of being an actual honest to goodness human being. 

If I’m not careful I will take a shortcut.
Desire lines are not just for parks and college campuses, we cut them across our souls and our workplaces and our homes.

I do my best to avoid it, but my best isn’t all that great if I’m being honest. Like yesterday’s post, that’s a bit of laziness. Is making work count for twice as much the same thing as doing half the work? 

I don’t think so, but it’s also not doing twice as much work now is it? 

Damien Hirst used to say he shot his arrow and painted the target around where it struck. I used to take pride in having a similar sort of approach. I think that’s okay for some things, like putting sharks in museums or writing the great american novel, but when it comes to the moral side, the emotional side? Not so good. 

You’ve got to draw a line in the sand for things like that. So often we draw lines that can be obscured by shadows, or sandslides, or we draw lines we know can move, or we do it when nobody’s looking, or we merely plan to do it, or we mark them out at a slant.

Knowing that this is in us is the first step to fighting it.