Why We Stop

Have you ever started something that was really important to you...

...only to stop?

Then start again.

Then stop again.

Eventually, stop altogether.

I do it too.

For a long time, I told myself I lacked discipline...or maybe I just didn't want it enough.

Now I think something else is going on.

When we don't experience progress quickly enough, we naturally drift toward things that reward us immediately.

We answer emails.

Cross something off the to-do list.

Do the mini NYT crossword.

Take the dog for a walk.

None of those things are bad.

They simply feel more rewarding in the moment than writing the book, building the business, getting in shape, or having the difficult conversation.

We confuse movement with progress.

The work that changes our lives rarely rewards us right away.

It rewards us over time.

Like the steady drip of water shaping a rock.

The photo above was taken when I was 11 years old. My baseball coach was teaching me something as simple as how to hold a bat. He wasn't trying to make me a great hitter that day. He was helping me become one over time.

Maybe that's why so many meaningful things feel difficult in the beginning.

Not because we lack discipline.

Because immediate rewards are easier to choose than delayed ones.

The question isn't:

"Why do I keep stopping?"

It's:

"What do I get every time I stop?"