We can often endure an extra pound of pain far more easily than we can suffer the withdrawal of an ounce of accustomed pleasure.

Harris contrasts our tolerance for added suffering with our resistance to giving up familiar comforts. The “pound” versus “ounce” imagery suggests that loss aversion and habit can make small deprivations feel disproportionately painful, even when we can shoulder much larger burdens imposed from outside. The line points to the psychological power of accustomed pleasure—routine, convenience, status, or indulgence—and explains why change (dieting, quitting an addiction, reducing consumption, relinquishing privilege) often feels harder than enduring new hardships. It is a compact critique of human irrationality: we measure pain not only by magnitude, but by whether it disrupts what we have come to expect.