It is easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. As Voltaire once wrote, “The best is the enemy of the good.”

Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires. New versions of old vices. The underlying motives behind human behavior remain the same. The specific habits we perform differ based on the period of history.

orosensation

It is a simple two-step process: Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Mastery requires patience.

Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.

Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.

You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.