Temptation

“Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.”

― Thomas Jefferson 

This is a familiar theme, reproduced throughout the ages, that of bypassing instant gratification for the longer-term success.  The theme appears in many settings, from losing weight to premarital sex.  On this, the eve of the new year, resolutions are merrily promised, sincerely adopted, and enthusiastically pursued, until the ogre of the work involved shows its ugly head.  All forms of resolutions are then cast aside as the coats of winter on a sunny day.  No one wants the toil involved in working through to a longer-term goal.  No one wants the deprivation involved.  And yet, as the quote above implies, before you break your resolutions in favor of a piece of chocolate or other inadvisable item, consider whether that action would move you toward your goal or create more pain than it is worth.