Fast-forward through the slow parts of a movie and the ending won’t make you cry. The slow parts were the setup.

Payoff is built out of the parts that felt like nothing while they happened. The slow stretch is where you learn who these people are, so that one line at the end has something to land on. Skip it and the plot still works while the meaning quietly disappears.

Sit through the slow parts of your own week rather than scrolling past them. The quiet Tuesday, the drive, the hour of practice with nobody watching. Those are not the gaps between the good bits. They are the reason the good bits do anything to you.