"The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another....
Some of those situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others: but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardour which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice; or to corrupt the future tranquillity of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice."
When thouse preference drive us too fast and too hard, because we overrated the difference between our futures, we are at risk.
When our ambitions are bounded, it leads us to work joyfully. When our ambitions are unbounded it leads us to lie, to cheat, to steal, hurt others, and to sacrifice things of real value.
When fears are bounded, we can be prudent, cautious, and thoughtful. When our fears are unbounded and overblown, we are reckless and cowardly.
Longings and worries are overblown because we have capacity to manufacture the very comodity that we are constantly chasing when we choose experience.
