A layover isn’t where you’re going. Don’t unpack there.

Temporary situations become permanent through settling rather than through any decision. A job, a town, an arrangement meant to last a few months quietly acquires furniture and habits, and at some point you have built a life in a place you only meant to pass through. Nobody chooses that, it happens by not choosing.

If you are in a stopgap, keep a clear sense of what it is for and roughly how long it lasts. Put a review date on the calendar where you decide again. Rest there, use it, take what you can from it, and stay packed.