Who needs socks when you can have cupcakes?

Human instinct is to want stuff, whether it’s stuff you should have or not. We can only hold back for so long. It’s why diets don’t last and professional baseball players who go to jail get to come back to professional baseball. People like to eat yummy treats and general managers like to win games. So red velvet cupcakes and $5 milion pitchers with 5.00 ERA’s re-enter the equation.

This was further confirmed in last Friday’s NYT article that lays out the thinking behind people who are back to buying fun stuff at a faster clip than the necessary stuff. As the founder of Junior’s Cheesecake in Brooklyn so articulately summed it up, “People want to get back to living — it’s become a more adjusted normal.” Water always finds it’s own level, and humans find theirs.

My only fear is that the level they like isn’t one they can afford. My wish for them: Think creatively. When the stuff you want is unhealthy, unaffordable, or just doesn’t seem like a good idea, think about what could replace it, or what you could do instead; maybe find a different place to shop or eat, put on a pair of pants that you always ignored, or try combining two foods in one dish that might normally make you gag. Rumor has it that’s how Grant Achatz got his start.

You can’t always get what you crave. But if you think creatively some time, you’ll find, you’ll get what you need...

Speaking of which, have you checked out the schedule at Chicago Ideas Week? You might find an event on Tues 10/11 that's especially interesting.