Zeno's Interpersonal Relationship Paradox

Possibly you are familiar with Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox. One of the more famous paradoxes, it supposes that a woman is attempting to run a 50 yard dash. In order to make it all the way to the finish line, the runner would first need to make it to 25 yards. After that, the runner can run half way to the end (three-quarters of the way). After that, she can run halfway again (7/8ths of the way), then half of the remaining distance (15/16ths), etc. So, given an infinite amount of time, the end is never reachable. It is always theoretically possible to go halfway between your current position and the goal.

To make it even harder on the poor lady, before she could run to halfway through the course (25 yards), she would need to run to 12.5 yards. And before that, 6.25. And so on. Before she can run to a point, she must be able to reach a point halfway there. Because this continues in smaller and smaller increments to infinity, she cannot ever get to the finish line. She can't even complete the race because she can never make the first step.

Don't get concerned. This paradox is not a breakdown of reality as we know it. All of us can usually get where we're going; we don't get paralyzed trying to make a first step. But according to Zeno's theory, reaching the finish is impossible, because there is always further to go. Think about that; reaching a goal is impossible.

No one understands how the mind connects things, but I associate this with a time I was adding a new number to my phone speed dial. It was something I had put off doing for a long, long time. My first step was realizing I might want to call this number. Hooray! Halfway there! So, I got the number (three-fourths of the work done!). I stuck it into the number list on my phone (hmm, not much work, but still on the right track!). Then I tried to determine the best times to call (feels like stalling). Then I was frustrated because there were never good times to call (definitely stalling). Then I tried to call and hung up because of anxiety (alllllmost there). Then I used the voicemail system to leave a message without having to speak to anyone or actually call the number (is he cheating at a phone call?). Then I called at times when there was sure to be no one available (he is cheating!). Then I put the number on speed dial because I was using it so often.

Like in the Dichotomy Paradox, I kept marching towards a goal, but due to my reluctance, I always traveled half my previous distance. And the closer I got, the bigger a deal it became. The closer I got, the more I worried, the more I inflated it to be a big deal, and the less distance I covered.

Of course, when I actually covered the last bit of distance and reached the goal (thereby breaking the paradox), it was such a small distance that I ended up wondering why I had made all that fuss. Why was it such a big deal to get from point A to B, Zeno?

If only I could apply this knowledge to the next time...