Use the One-Coin Problem to Keep From Slacking on Your Goals
Making excuses for ourselves can be a slippery slope. Buying
something small that's outside of your budget or cheating on
your diet can quickly get out of hand. However, Gretchen Rubin
of The Happiness Project has a tip that'll help you keep things
in perspective.  The one-coin problem asks if an almost
negligible amount of progress—a single coin—can make you rich.
It argues that it's all a matter of where you place your focus:
that seeming small lapse or the growing heap that often isn't
apparent until much later.  The one-coin problem captures a
paradox that's familiar to all of us: when we consider our
actions, often it's true that any one instance of an action is
almost meaningless, yet at the same time, a sum of those actions
is very meaningful. Whether we focus on the single coin, or the
growing heap, will shape our behavior.  Whether you're dieting,
implementing a fitness program, or trying to save money, it's
common knowledge that little th