I just figured something out.
One time - I mean, one hypothetical time, as this happened more than once. And I don’t remember any specifics. One time in school, my dad asked me why one of my assignments had a zero.
He had probably had helped me do the assignment and couldn’t figure out why it would have a zero. (A B+, maybe - but a zero?). So he asked me and I said something like, “I didn’t turn it in.”
“You didn’t turn it in? I can’t believe that? Why wouldn’t you turn an assignment in? I never, ever did an assignment without turning it in!”
What’s up with that?
I had finished the assignment, and in my mind, that’s all that mattered (and it only mattered a little). I didn’t care what the teacher thought of my work. I didn’t care if I got a zero. I mostly cared that I understood the lesson. Since I didn’t do the assignment I couldn’t prove or even demonstrate my understanding, but why does that even matter? Why do I need to get “a grade” at all?
Maybe that’s it. I think this is related.
This happens to me at [big box electronics retailer] a lot. I stand there in the aisle, looking at, say, two computer mice. This one has some feature and is $48.74 and this one has some different feature and is $64.58, this one blah blah blah blah blah…
20 minutes later, “Okay - that’s it!” I decide. I’m splurging and getting the fancier one, even though it’s more expensive.
I start marching out of the store with my new device and more than once I’ve almost forgotten that I actually have to stop at the register and give them my money.
