A Nice Illusion: When the Mind Plays Tricks on Us
I used to believe that the alarm I set would wake me up earlier. I even set five alarms with five-minute intervals, as if their sounds would be a sacred command that would wake me up with full awareness. The truth? As soon as the first alarm went off, I simply reset my expectations—“Five more minutes.” And so it went, until I finally woke up in a state of utter panic.
A nice illusion works like that—offering possibilities that sound reasonable, but are actually just mind games. For example, how often we believe that we can do something “later,” when we know full well that “later” is a time that never really comes.
I also used to believe that buying a lot of books would automatically make me a better reader. I imagined myself sitting quietly in a corner of the room, sipping coffee while enjoying classic works. But what happened? My bookshelf was filled with novels and essays that were still sealed, while I spent more time reading Instagram captions or the price list of coffee milk on online motorcycle taxi apps.
The biggest illusion I’ve ever had is probably the belief that one day I’ll actually be able to “manage my time better.” It’s a lie I tell myself every year, as I eagerly buy a new planner. There’s always the feeling that this year I’ll be more productive, more disciplined, more everything. But in the end, that planner is just neatly filled out in January, and then turns into a scribbled-on book of phone numbers and shopping lists the following month.
But honestly, I don’t mind these illusions so much. Because without them, life would feel too flat. Maybe we do need to believe once in a while that we can change overnight, that tomorrow will be better, or that we really do just need “five more minutes” before we get out of bed. Because without a little trickery from our own minds, maybe the world would feel too honest to face.
A Nice Illusion