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7. Bringing A Book To The Beach And Not Reading It
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You are mistaken if you truly believe you will find the book you tossed in your beach bag among readings. Most likely, you'll be tanning, in the water, or on your phone. Leave the book at home and clear area for extra sunscreen, drink, and snacks. Those are more crucial than stuffing a book that will never be touched but will become sandy and moist. One classic illustration of our optimistic self-deception is this odd tendency. We bring that book with the greatest of intentions, seeing ourselves as the picture of refinement lying on the sand with our reading friend. But beach life soon takes front stage. Too strong to refuse are the waves' appeal, the sun's warmth, and the continual distraction our cellphones provide. That unfortunate book turns into little more than a sandy, somewhat moist memory of our unmet intellectual goals. It's about the cognitive dissonance between who we believe we are—or want to be—and who we really are when confronted with the pleasures of beach relaxation, not only about the wasted space in our beach bags. Maybe the next time we should embrace our actual beach selves and quit pretending to be beach readers at home. After all, there's nothing wrong with totally savoring the small pleasures of sun, water, and sand free from the weight of an unread book evaluating us from the depths of our beach bag.
