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Rumpelstiltskin Effect

A classic fairytale of desiring to make-do with less, and the sacrifices we are willing to make to achieve our goals, where we become caught in a negative cycle of trying to do more and more with less and less, as we fall further and further behind.

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Origin

The tale was one collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales, though the story itself may be 4,000 years old.