the hardest decision in surgery is knowing when to abandon a repair and just remove the whole organ. 

If a spleen is shattered, we'll take it out to protect the rest of the body. Same with a section of colon or small bowel. 

The human body can survive a fair amount of loss. People live without an appendix, a kidney, tonsils, and more. 

The body finds ways to compensate for what it's missing but it will eventually reach a breaking point. 

The body can only give up so much before it no longer works at all. 

Much like with surgery, life is full of calculated risks. We often make sacrifices in hopes of better outcomes.

 Not every gamble pays off the way we hoped. 

So we ask ourselves, 

What are we willing to give up? 

What can we leave behind? 

What do we need to live? 

What makes life worth living? 

What are we willing to put on the line when a life is at stake?

 How much are we ready to lose if things don't break our way?

 

Research suggests that up to 40% of our day is spent acting out existing habits rather than making new decisions. 

From sleep to personal hygiene to diet and exercise. 

Some of our habits serve us well. Others can be more complicating.

 If you want to change a habit, behavioral scientists suggests starting small. Make one minor adjustment over time, it creates a domino effect that helps us make bigger chances down the line. 

Make a radical change and you've set yourself up for failure. 

The principle of the domino effect is a double-edged sword. 

It can help us build healthy habits but it can lead to destructive tendencies as well. One small misstep becomes one bad habit. 

Of course, none of us is perfect and so much is out of our control. 

All you can do is make the best choices available to you 

and hope they don't come back to bite you.

 

The human brain contains roughly one hundred billion neurons.

 Alone, these neurons would only allow us to retain about as much information as a flash drive.

 Fortunately for us, our neurons connect and combine, creating a web that exponentially increases the brain storage capacity. In fact, this process creates so much space that we can store the equivalent of three million hours of video content. 

So why can't we remember everything we try to commit to memory?

Our brains are constantly adapting to the present moment. 

Our brains can override information we no longer use with newer, more relevant ideas. 

Our brains make these decisions for us, whether we like it or not. 

They help us hold on to the things that matter and make space for whatever the future may hold.