Let's say I'm standing in the aisle at the grocery store, and someone asks me to step aside so they can pass. It takes minor effort on my part — inconsequential but more than simply standing there — but makes things better for them. Is simply doing so a defeat? Have I been defeated? Is saying, "Yeah, I'd move a step or two to the left, no biggie" defeatism because the movement does not bring "measurable personal gain" to my life?
That feels like a sad, thin way of living life.