Day 49: Start Fresh Every Day

It's the penultimate day of my challenge, and there's something I need to get off my chest before the finale. There's something I've learned that is incredibly important: the willingness to start fresh every day.

In the past, I often followed this pattern: I made a plan, started executing it, and the first day went great, the second day too, maybe even the third. But by the fourth day, something would slip. A routine or task I had committed to would not be followed through, or I'd change the plan or even procrastinate. To me, the entire plan was then ruined.

When a streak was broken, the thought quickly came: "Okay, then there's no point in continuing."

Instead of just moving on, I accepted the interruption as the failure of the entire plan. What nonsense!

Today I know: an interruption is just an interruption. I can continue the streak the next day. Just act like nothing happened.

Behind this is a completely different mindset, namely the willingness to start anew at any time. You plan to do 20 push-ups daily? After a week, you can't motivate yourself for a day? It doesn't matter: continue the next day.

You wake up on the wrong side of the bed? The day isn't lost. Just continue on your path. The rest of the day is still there, and you have the chance to make good use of it.

Why is it so hard for us to simply continue a broken streak?

Probably because of the ego. It's hard to admit failure, especially when it comes to our own plans. Maybe it's easier to fail at a task given by someone else; this is just a hypothesis and not empirically tested. I believe that failing at our own goals always involves admitting we're not good enough.

It's often easier to do nothing at all and just let the streak break. Then you don't have to admit failure.

But this is completely wrong. Anyone who takes a one or two-day break after a week of push-ups and then continues will always end up fitter and more toned than the person who gives up.

No matter what it's about, every streak breaks at some point. It doesn't matter: take a break and start fresh. Again and again.

Success belongs to those who get up one more time than those who stay down.