Daily Winning

Have you ever felt like, despite your intentions to improve and be a better, more productive individual, the world is always finding ways to disrupt your plans? It could be that you planned to eat the grilled chicken at the restaurant, but then you hear the waiter tell you that baby back ribs are the special tonight. Or it could be that you planned to spend time after work on that new side hustle you've been itching to start, only to learn that the latest season of Yellowstone just dropped. Or, maybe you planned to go to bed early to seize the day tomorrow until your roommate broke out the tequila.

Of course you have. We all have. This is standard operating procedure for the world to keep people distracted by hedonistic pursuits rather than the truth and real improvement. The world is fine with you making all the grand plans you want. It knows that for almost everyone, it can find a lure to keep them away from pursuing anything other than its agenda.

Therefore, rather than being surprised when the world offers you disruptive alternatives, you should expect it. And more importantly, you should prepare for it. You must prepare for it. Or else, you will watch your plans dissipate as you grow older, fatter, and less wise.

You may be thinking that a plate of baby back ribs one night won't kill you, or a night on the couch with Yellowstone won't sidetrack your side hustle, or that a few tequila shots won't ruin your day. You might be right, but you also might be wrong. For many of these indulgences, the recovery time will likely be longer than twelve hours. If you eat a giant plate of baby back ribs or take several shots of tequila, chances are you won't feel like vigorously working out the next day. And beginning a new TV series will probably consume several nights of free time.

When you recover from these indulgences, you'll be facing the same distracting temptations, perhaps in varying forms such as cheesecake, a new Netflix series, or bourbon night. You gave in once and survived. What's a little more delay in your plans? Go ahead and indulge, the world will tell you. Of course, the danger is that if you do, your one-day delay turns into three, which turns into a week, which turns into a month, which turns into a year, which turns into a life of could've, should've, would've.

So, how do you prepare yourself against these attention assaults? You win. You commit to winning, and you win every single day, no matter what. Winners don't make excuses. They don't have to justify themselves or their inaction. That's because they just do, and that is what you will do if you want to be a winner.

Practically, winning means making progress toward your goals every day. The progress can be minuscule and less than your best effort, much less even. That's okay. What matters is showing up and doing the work.

And you don't have to live like a monk to be a winner. Sometimes it is okay to go ahead and order those baby back ribs, but only eat half and promise yourself that you'll go beast mode in the gym tomorrow. Start Yellowstone, but limit yourself to one episode and only after 20 minutes of work on your side hustle. Take the tequila shots, and when you inevitably miss your morning workout, do fifty pushups, embracing the shitty feelings in your head and stomach. That's winning. In each case, those little wins bridge the gap between your last success and your next one.

Forget doing perfect or nothing. Don't even think in terms of doing seventy percent or nothing. Just do. The more you do, the more you win.