Here's what I think:<p>People need to understand that when traveling through life--whether by car, aging, networking, degrees, promotions, dating)--it doesn't matter where you actually are. At all. It never has, and it never will. Those photos you took are pointless. If pictures are worth a thousand words, then people are worth a billion photos. A few photos a day just can't capture what you're thinking, the social context, the general mood, your thoughts and feelings, the state of the economy, foreign relations, what you just did 5 minutes prior, what you just ate, what your friends are up to off-camera, if the person next to you smells like they're drunk, the charge on your cell phone, your status with friends and family, etc.<p>Photos give the illusion of defining you at a point in time, but they are NOT a virtual machine or an environment like Squeak--they're just a screen shot--and not what the person's doing, either, but what what's visible for that split second of time.<p>The big problem, then, is that people judge themselves by what they would look like if somebody were to take a photo of them, and not by where they're going. In fact, people are doing everything they can to impede where they're going--buying anti-age cremes, spending money so they don't have to take the responsibility of saving it, which might otherwise make them feel older. So, people are always focusing on looking like they have never made any progress in their lives.<p>However, when traveling through life--whether by car, aging, networking, degrees, promotions, dating)--it doesn't matter where you actually are. At all. It never has, and it never will.<p>The only two things that matter are the direction and velocity. Therefore, you always have to make the best choices you can for your life, when buying things, socializing, and business. Look at what's stopping you, decide your options, and pick the best overall choice, and if you really can't see a better way, then do the option that is easier. Then move on. Life is better than any video game because you have infinite choices in infinite areas. The key is to hurry up and make a choice, and move on to the other 230 trillion choices you have.<p>If you know you like a shirt, and the fit and price range is good, but you can't decide between red and blue, pick one randomly and move on. Who cares what it will look like when somebody takes a photo of you?