Have you ever tried to figure out why you do what you do? For me, I wonder why I skip a work out or eat the double cheeseburger when trying to control my weight. Maybe when I know something has to get done but I put it off because something else looks more fun. We do what we do because of our habits. Good or bad habits shape us from day to day. If you hit the snooze button once but never again you do not have a habit because every other day you wake up without hitting snooze. If you hit snooze everyday (multiple times) it is now an automated response to a stimulus. You are no longer making the decision to hit snooze, now you have to make a decision about getting up at all.
Here is the reason this stood out to me today. We are always looking for the quick fix, magic pill or one time shot that will cure our ills. When actually the fix is small steady actions that make the difference. Much like the black bamboo we do not see the change until many days of consistent action. I do not lose all the weight I want in one workout, I do not save a million dollars in one paycheck, I do not pay of a home on the first payment. All of these things are possible for everyone but we have to do the daily items necessary to achieve them.
Follow the advice of Jerry Seinfeld, \”don\’t break the chain.\” When asked how he became so good at comedy he simply said that everyday he writes 5 jokes and never breaks the chain. He has written 100\’s of 1000\’s of jokes and few are ever told or remembered. Because he was willing to pay the daily toll of success, he made it. Are you willing to pay the toll to success today and everyday hereafter? If you miss a day just start a new chain. The flywheel or 20 mile march are just unbroken chains.