Life is simple. But it's not easy.

“We need to build simple systems if we want to build good systems.”

Rich Hickey [Simple Made Easy]

Most of the time, we know what to do.

• Diet, exercise, sleep, sunlight, posture.

• Getting up on time.

• Showing up on time.

• Doing the work.

• Studying, building, experimenting.

• Meditating, reflecting, listening.

It's the doing that's hard.

Ambition

It is well known the drunken sailor who staggers to the left or right with n independent random steps will, on the average, end up about √n steps from the origin. But if there is a pretty girl in one direction, then his steps will tend to go in that direction and he will go a distance proportional to n.

• Richard Hamming [link]

Goals tell you what direction to go. Choose them carefully.

Willpower

Willpower is a resource. You can trade it for doing something you don't want to do, or not doing something you want to do.

But willpower is limited. Recovering willpower takes time and rest.

Habit

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

• James Clear

Habits are patterns that cost little-to-no willpower. They are optimized neural pathways. Each habit typically consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward.

Good habits lead to good results. Bad habits lead to bad results.

The Game

The game is set noble goals and then to adopt habits that align with those goals.

Changing habits is expensive. Don't take for granted the good ones you already have. Don't adopt bad ones carelessly.

White-knuckling change can effective in the short-term, but is ineffective in the long-term unless it leads to a change in habit.

Habits have two stats: Activation fee and momentum fee.

The activation fee is the "cost" of the next time of engaging a habit. The momentum fee is the latent "cost" of keeping a habit going.

Activation fees can be increased or decreased. Momentum fees can only be decreased.

Habits can be created and they can be "deactivated". Momentum fees are persistent, so there is no "deleting" of habits. There is only "deactivating".

Activation fees are affected by short-term changes. Novelty, stress, diet, etc. Momentum fees are affected by repeatedly activated the habit.

Novelty is a temporary bonus that reduces a new habit's activation fee.

Bad habits whose momentum fees have decreased significantly should not be re-activated.