“A standard of living is of the nature of habit. …it acts almost solely to prevent recession from a scale of conspicuous expenditure that has once become habitual.”

— Thorstein Veblen , book The Theory of the Leisure Class

Source: The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), p. 106

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Thorstein Veblen 41

American academic 1857–1929

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“It is much more difficult to recede from a scale of expenditure once adopted than it is to extend the accustomed scale in response to an accession of wealth.”

Thorstein Veblen book The Theory of the Leisure Class

Source: The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), p. 102

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“Though I think that man has from nature the capacity of living, either by prey, or upon the fruits of the earth; it appears to me, that by nature, and in his original state, he is a frugivorous animal, and that he only becomes an animal of prey by acquired habit.”

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“Even happiness itself may become habitual. There is a habit of looking at the bright side of things, and also of looking at the dark side.”

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Source: Self-Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct (1859), Ch. XIII : Character — The True Gentleman
Context: Even happiness itself may become habitual. There is a habit of looking at the bright side of things, and also of looking at the dark side. Dr. Johnson has said that the habit of looking at the best side of a thing is worth more to a man than a thousand pounds a year. And we possess the power, to a great extent, of so exercising the will as to direct the thoughts upon objects calculated to yield happiness and improvement rather than their opposites.