Newton’s third law states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I doubt Newton realized just how much that law applies to our lives, not just physics.
Think about it—if we spend an entire day lounging on the couch, inhaling Doritos, and watching TV shows that provide nothing except deep psychological insight into a woman who used to be married to Kanye West… how do we feel afterward? Like we wasted an entire day. Like we’ve doubled our weight in Doritos. Like we know more about a billionaire’s dating history than we know about ourselves.
But in the moment? Oh, it felt amazing. The crunch. The drama. The blissful escape.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Giving in to those quick, easy, feel-good indulgences—the ones we know deep down are counterproductive—only leaves us feeling stuck, guilty, and a little more existentially lost.
Now, let’s flip it. What’s that one thing on your to-do list that you keep putting off? The thing that scares you? The thing that drains you just thinking about it? Yeah… you gotta go do it.
That’s the thing that will bring you real fulfillment. That’s the thing that will create new opportunities, new connections, and real earned happiness. The harder it is, the greater the rewards. And once you’ve tackled it, then you can guilt-free enjoy a show about a family with a combined 2,389 cosmetic procedures while demolishing a bag of Doritos.
Keep your “hard things” and your “easy things” in balance. At the end of the day, make sure the hard outweighs the easy—because for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.