It's all too easy, history reminds us, for self-invention to slip into self-delusion.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Inventing Niagara'

But 20 years on, the danger is the catharsis may slip into self-pity.

CNN: MAO NOW

And people are more likely to break their own rules if they have spent the day resisting temptation: dieters often slip after a day of self-denial, for example.

ECONOMIST: Schumpeter