“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill
It’s really hard to get back on top of things when you get derailed.
You build up all this momentum—finally working out consistently again, or making progress on an idea, or two weeks of taking an online coding class—then something gets in the way and whoosh—you face plant.
I find it helpful to think of failing and being inconsistent with a habit (or goal) as part of the process. It reminds me of meditation. The goal isn’t to remove your thoughts, but be aware that you are thinking them, and then going back to your breath.
The goal of any habit isn’t to do it perfectly, the goal is to stick to it, no matter what. (Including messing up or missing a day.)
Actually the goal of any habit isn’t the habit at all, it’s what the habit does for us. Every habit, good or bad, creates an outcome. Journaling every day has it’s day-to-day benefits, but the true benefit is having years worth of your own thoughts and ideas you can look back on and let guide you forward.
Getting lazy (or more likely overbooked) and skipping a week of working out or practicing your code isn’t going to do you any favors, but it’s not a dead end either. Fail, get back up. Fail, try again.
The goal isn’t to be perfect, but to keep going.
