shoping is hard

[pktechgirlbackup]

I will frequently plan massive thrift store trips involving several large stores. Inevitably, I'm tired and ready to go home after the first one. If I push it to 2, I leave cranky and achey. After several years of this I finally accepted this pattern and changed my behavior, but it still felt like I ought to be able to shop longer. Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard explains why I couldn't: shopping involves a lot of decision making. Thrift store shopping in particular, you're looking at hundreds of different pieces of clothing, deciding which to put in your basket, and then determining whether each and every piece is good enough to purchase- there's no "let's try another size" compromise.

What's weird is that shopping is supposed to therapeutic for exactly the same reason: you get to exercise a lot of control over your environment. This doesn't have to be paradoxical: something can be fun and yet tiring (*cough*). But it is interesting.