When people around you do something that makes no sense or is self-defeating, it might not be because they’re stupid.
It’s more likely that they don’t believe what you believe, don’t see what you see or don’t want what you want. It might be different measures of time, of status or desire. If we hope to understand behavior, and ultimately to change it, we need to see the stories behind it.
Because, in many ways, we’re all irrational sometimes.