In chess, a move that looks like a mistake is sometimes bait. Before you grab a free piece, ask why it’s free.

Something sitting there for free is either a gift or a hook, and the two look identical until you have asked why it is available. Greed answers the question for you before you have thought, which is exactly what the trap is built on. The habit worth having is the small pause where you look for the reason.

When something arrives suspiciously easily, a deal, an offer, a shortcut somebody is pushing, ask out loud what the other side gets out of it. If there is a good answer, take it happily. If there is no answer at all, go slower.