I talk a lot on here about breaking patterns.

The other day I broke one of my own patterns, and I didn’t even mean to.

I was talking to a friend. He said, “People only value what they pay for.”

“True,” I replied. Up until a few days ago, I considered that one of those unassailable truths, bedrock upon which all of civilization is founded.

“But wait,” I said, doubt beginning to fill my head, “Person XYZ (I named a name here) is one of the most influential people in our lives, and neither of us has given him any money in 10 years. I think… maybe… our actions are showing that this isn’t true.”

And suddenly I realized there were a ton of other examples like this around me. All the way up to I value God, but I’ve never given Him one dollar, not even one.

(actually, since I’m not a very religious person, God isn’t a really good example, but sub in there whatever proxy you’d like to use)

At the same time, my computer’s hard drive is filled with books and courses I paid good money for, and I don’t even remember their names.

One of the cold hard truths I thought was carved in stone was suddenly full of holes. For years I’ve repeated the “truth” that people only value what they pay for, and now I realize I am surrounded by examples of how that is not true.