Getting out of the *habit* of pain.

I think pain (and anxiety) actually *are* habituating.

That is, one can get *used* to the rush of certain chemicals in the bloodstream, flooding the mind with an array of (unwanted) yet – well, common feelings.

I won’t call it addiction – I read somewhere that there’s no such thing, and I believe it.

I believe in *coping* mechanisms, that we are *insanely* well-adapted creatures, and *everything* we do happens for a *reason*, even if we don’t actually understand it.

That’s why these articles on human behavior, human nature and the underlying psychological and/or basic survival motivations are so fascinating to me: The reasons we *think* we say and do things are quite often in complete opposition to the reasons we’re *actually* doing them.

Feeling a bit like a broken record here, but I think the *genius* of someone like Peter Segal (sp?) on Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me (NPR Sat am) comes from exactly that: A clear-eyed, highly *intelligent* awareness of what’s really going on.

He’s not easily distracted, and he has an absolute laser-like ability to cut through the crap. He’s also a bit of a sexist pig, but I guess I can forgive him since he periodically lampoons *himself*. Which is probably Rule No. 1 in How to Win Friends and Influence People: Be confident, but never arrogant, and *always* self-denigrate just enough to keep people smiling.