Most people’s mental models of energy are flawed: they think there’s a ‘tank’ of energy that gets depleted as you spend it. This may be roughly true for physical energy, but mental energy is different: spending mental energy on things that you consider productive or important gives you more mental energy for other things: a positive feedback loop.

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From this perspective, what looks like ‘depletion’ or fatigue might actually be a transition. After an extended period of persistence, the brain may ease into flexibility – not because it’s run out of mental fuel, but because switching gears is adaptive . From an evolutionary perspective, our ancestors likely gained a survival advantage from... See more

We are extrapolating machines in a world where nothing too good or too bad lasts indefinitely.  When you’re in the middle of a powerful trend it’s difficult to imagine a force strong enough to turn things the other way.