Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.

Two consolations are doing quite different jobs. Imagination lets you live for a while in lives you will never have, which is why stories and daydreams feel like nourishment rather than escape. Humour handles the other half, the gap between the person you intended to be and the one who actually got out of bed. Without the second, the first curdles, because the contrast becomes unbearable.

When you catch yourself falling short this week, try laughing before you start analysing. Affectionate amusement at your own expense is not lowering your standards; it is what makes having standards survivable.