18/12/2023
It's easy to be persistent... When you had a good night's sleep, your kids behave, and your spouse doesn't have a hangover, PMS, or Testosterone fluctuations (yeah, those are real, too).
But persistence is a different game when the world gets crashing in on you, and you are in containing (not extinguishing) fire damage.
Just showing up on those days takes some real courage and resources. You know what I am talking about.
Some say you can skip that day.
Others say you should seize the opportunity.
I think both are maniacs if you ask me.
The closest I got to wisdom to deal with these spurs of misfortune, trouble, and dragon fire is from Sahil B.
He has this rule that you can skip once but never twice in a row.
And only once a month. Or something like it - remembered the concept not the details. The concept sure sounded more life-adjustable to me.
And the thing is, if you are serious about it, you won't skip it. Even if you have a fail-back.
Because you are now accountable to yourself.
A headache and sneezing are a pain in the ass to be writing or doing pushups, but do you really think tomorrow will be more accessible? Or will you waste your one day out on a semi-difficult day?
See how that works.
By giving yourself some latitude, you need to become more accountable and plan resources.
And that is actually the whole point. To put some mental energy into the thing if you deviate from the path. Because the way becomes the norm and the default.
I am no gym freak.
Perhaps I should work on that. But I read the previous month that people who go to gyms regularly choose their hotels based on the gym. They think about the gym first, then decide on the vacation hotel.
I dwelled on it a bit.
My wife and I obviously chose our stay based on our little children. But perhaps that is also a mistake. Maybe we should choose based on our own needs and goals. Perhaps the "hotels with a gym" strategy are worth trying out more carefully.
If you let yourself drift through life without a plan or a goal, you drift toward entropy. A universal order of CHAOS. Because entropy means everything falls apart in time, unless you continuously and constantly invest effort, it doesn't auto-destruct.
So persistence is not only for attaining something new. It is also for remaining in the same spot. The level or perseverance and the plans matter if you want to stand still or go further. But if you like falling apart, then just do nothing.
But don't act surprised when that chaos sneaks up on you with a disaster you did not see coming. Because the universe saw it coming. It was just a matter of time.
Time is the crucial factor here. Time equals probability with certainty.
Eventually, you run into luck or out of it. But we'll talk about that next time.
