[eaton]

Let's say I'm standing in the aisle at the grocery store, and someone asks me to step aside so they can pass. It takes minor effort on my part — inconsequential but more than simply standing there — but makes things better for them. Is simply doing so a defeat? Have I been defeated? Is saying, "Yeah, I'd move a step or two to the left, no biggie" defeatism because the movement does not bring "measurable personal gain" to my life?

That feels like a sad, thin way of living life.

[helixhelix]

I can also make analogies. It's like asking a baker for carrot cake every day and when he finally makes one, you explain you were merely thinking of other people. Nobody else has asked for carrot cake but it made you feel special for a moment even though you know it wasn't interest in people's eyes.