Today’s meandering pontification is brought to you by my inability to consistently meet my step goal and my gift for turning the mundane into an opportunity for over thought.

Generally speaking, I hate it. Why would you take 20 minutes to do something that could be done in eight? Why take two trips when you can do it in one? Why wouldn’t you want to find the shortest path to the answer or destination?

Except. If you want to come anywhere close to making your step counter happy (and your body I guess), the shortest path isn’t going to get you there. Finding a novel solution that’s better than what you have now only happens if you are willing to chase countless ideas that lead nowhere. You’ll never stop a Graceland on the way to TX, if you only care about making good time. If work comes before play and your work is never done, when do you rest?

And yet. Fast is fun. The thrill of working quickly and well, of firing on all cylinders and watching your plans come together is hard to beat. And the pain of plodding through the steps when you already “know” the answer is excruciating.

My conclusion is, there is no conclusion. There is no one optimal path. I hate that. And I love it.