The path of least resistance

I like to keep life as simple as I can. Or at least, I want to be the kind of person that keeps things simple. I never know how much my real self matches up with my idea of myself and my ideal of myself. Generally speaking, probably not superbly well, but I digress. Back to simple. I like to keep life simple and generally I have found that being good is the simplest option. I mean, I hope I choose to be good because I want to be good (again, real-perceived-ideal correlation hasn't been accurately measured), but I think that even if I didn't want to be good (which I do), from a practical point of view, I'd still generally choose to do the right thing. It is SO much easier.

For example: You need money so you decide to rob a bank. Let's talk about all the work that goes into that. First, you have to pick a bank. Then you have to come up with a plan. It could be your basic snatch and grab, or you could go Ocean's Eleven elaborate (which is even more work. I mean, seriously. Put your ingenuity to work and get a job! Save the prison sentence!). But you still need to at least have a plan, right? I don't know--I don't rob banks, but I guess it's possible people waltz in on a whim and hold up a bank. Seems dumb to me, but then, robbing banks seems dumb to me. Like I say, too much work.

Your plan is probably going to require a lot of work. You have to coordinate with any abettors you may have (and recruit them--more work), have a getaway plan, contingency plans for when things don't follow the plan, coordinate schedules, find parking. I mean, it's a mess. A huge hassle. And you aren't even getting paid for it. At work, when I have to coordinate meetings, etc., I'm earning money doing it.

Then, presuming you manage to rob the bank. You have to spend the rest of your life on the run--new identity, moving all the time, possibly leaving the country so you don't get caught. You have to lie to everyone you meet, which requires an amazingly agile mind, which if you have one, why waste it robbing banks (just sayin'). And the money runs out eventually, so you've done all that work for what? It's just so much stress. And, if you don't manage to not get caught, you get the joys of prison, which I guess does save some stress. No bills, you don't have to go to work everyday, no deciding what's for dinner or grocery shopping. But is it worth the cost? No privacy, a pretty big public relations issue when you get out, and I have never heard recommendations for the local prison cuisine.

And that is pretty much the case with anything you shouldn't be doing. Sure, it seems easier up front to rob the bank--no job interview, no actual working for an income, but when you really think it through, a job is so much less work. Really.

So, yeah. Just be good. It's so much easier.