#30 The Real Cost of Cheap Things Is Not the Price — It Is Your Expectation

You pick up something new. Already, somewhere inside, you know how long it will last. Not because you can see the future — because you've learned to stop expecting more.

This is what a lowered expectation feels like. Not a decision. Just the slow disappearance of a question you used to ask. Things die early now. You no longer find that strange.

The same silence, eventually, settles over everything else. You meet someone. Already, somewhere inside, you know how long they'll stay. Not because you know them — because you've stopped expecting more.