Blow up this balloon

Why?

I need it blown up.

Why can’t you do it?

I could.

So why are you asking me to?

Because I need 200 blown up .

Oh. Fair enough.

That’s a lot of balloons.

They’re for a birthday party.

Oh. That makes sense.

And could you tie a piece of string to each one.

Long enough that they don’t touch the floor if you hold them out.

Here are scissors, and some string.

Sure.

…

Here, I blew up the balloons.

Why do you want to do something?

What do you expect?

Two key questions to ask, when something is being asked of you.

Why do you want to own a house?

What do you expect it to be like if/when you do?

Who reads instruction manuals?

When the instructions say: "Gently pour over the lightly whipped double cream", but you've already stirred in the standard cream, it's too late.

It'll still taste great, but it's not quite what was intended. So as long as you were looking for something generally delicious, not something specifically fantastic, you're happy.

There's no instruction manual for a home. There's no compiled guide on how to find, rent, buy, decorate, renovate, design, or live in a house.

But if you have a home, it's still great.

The trick for long-lasting satisfaction isn't in making sure you've memorised the instructions. The trick is to have some generally reasonable expectations and hope for more. Instead of expecting a particular perfection.