Fail Small Not Big
Part of trying to live better is understanding that there will be times that we will falter. So the ability to pick ourselves up and get back on track quickly is more important than trying to live out our lives perfectly.
There will be those bad days where we find ourselves procrastinating, unfocused, distracted and generally feeling inefficient or unaccomplished. Rather than getting discouraged with ourselves, it is helpful to re-envision the day as four distinctive quarters rather one single day.
“”Instead of feeling that you’ve blown the day and thinking, “I’ll get back on track tomorrow,” try thinking of each day as a set of four quarters: morning, midday, afternoon, evening. If you blow one quarter, you get back on track for the next quarter. Fail small, not big.”” - Gretchen Rubin
If you’ve ever watched professional sports, you would have seen stunning upsets where one team trailing by a large margin at the end of the third quarter, make a seemingly miraculous comeback in the fourth to win the game.
The key takeaway is that ample ground can be made up in a short matter of time, even though it looks like you’ve already lost.
Splitting the day into quarters helps normalize the inevitable moments when we succumb to distraction or stray away from our plan. Even if you’ve spent a few hours frivolously watching videos on YouTube, the rest of the day is still salvageable.
There’s always a chance to recover because there’s always another quarter to make up for lost ground, stage a comeback and still win the day.
I’m an advocate of useful ideas and leveraging the best of what other smart people have already figured out. I write about principles, models and systems that help me gain perspective and make better decisions in life.
www.zerofriction.life
