August 13, 2025
Every day, I share a Thought of the Day and Question of the Day because the two together spark interesting conversations in our heads (and sometimes out loud). Today’s pair is a perfect example: one about the invisible weight of habits, and one about the noises that make you want to throw your phone into the sea. Let’s talk about both.
Thought of the Day: Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. — Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett has a way of saying things that sound like they should be stitched on a pillow… if that pillow also smacked you in the face with reality. Habits are sneaky. They don’t announce themselves with a brass band. They creep in quietly, like the smell of cookies in the oven or the background music in an elevator.
One day you think, I’ll just check my phone before bed. Six months later, you can’t fall asleep unless you’ve scrolled through every corner of the internet and read three articles about raccoons using vending machines.
The trouble is that by the time you realize a habit is weighing you down, it’s not just a thread, it’s an anchor. That’s why it’s worth checking in with yourself regularly and asking: Is this habit serving me, or am I serving it?
If you’ve ever tried breaking one, you know it’s easier to prevent the chain from forming than to break it later. I’ve written before about how small daily choices shape your future.
Question of the Day: If you could erase one sound from existence, what would it be?
I don’t know if there is any one particular sound that gets me, although a fork scraping across a ceramic plate grates at me. That and the sound of 52 conversations happening in the office all at once. This is not a cocktail party folks, pipe down.
Sounds can be strangely powerful. They can soothe you, like rain on a roof, or send you into fight-or-flight mode, like a mosquito buzzing in your ear at 2 AM. If you’ve ever had a song stuck in your head that you hate, you know the torture.
And here’s the fun part: your choice says a lot about you. People who can’t stand chewing noises might crave peace and control. Those who hate car alarms might be more sensitive to chaos. And people who want to erase Nickelback… well, we probably don’t need to psychoanalyze that.
I’ve explored before how having conversations with the dead and picking your least favorite sound is a surprisingly good way to learn what really gets under your skin.
Your turn: What’s the one sound you’d erase forever? And what’s one habit you’d like to break before it gets too heavy? Share in the comments, and if you want more Thought of the Day and Question of the Day sent right to you, join the daily email here.