Doing the same thing every day

You can get really good at something if you’re willing to do the same thing every single day. 

There are many paths to success, and many ways to get better. You can go to school, to get educated by people who teach things professionally. You can set off on your own, learning your own lessons the long, hard way. You can lock yourself in a room, not leaving until you’ve mastered a certain task. You can commit to a comprehensive training in a subject for years and years. 

But the easiest one is to just do the same tiny thing every single day. If you’re willing to do that, you don’t have to make the same amount of sacrifices that the others require. 

When we make hard things habits, they stop being hard. Not just because we slowly start to get better at them, but because the action becomes automatic. You probably don’t agonize over folding laundry, or backing your car out of a driveway, or cooking a little breakfast anymore. You might even be able to zone out while you do tasks like that because they’ve become ingrained habits. 

This is the magic of doing the same thing every day—especially creative actions. When we make the same creative action a daily habit, we’re not agonizing over getting the tools out, or finding an idea, or sharing the work. We might even be able to zone out while we do the work, entering a real flow state that’s only available to those who are willing to do the same thing every single day.