I think it’s fair to say we’ve all had habits and projects fail. We’ve decided to get fit, started an exercise habit, and it hasn’t lasted.

When this happens, most of us have a voice in our head that says some version of:

I’m weak
I’ve got no discipline
I’m hopeless
There’s something wrong with me
I’m a fraud
I’m an idiot

And things that I’m not going to write in this forum.

I think it’s much more useful to ask what structures were missing, than to listen to that voice inside our head. Rather than look inside ourselves, look at the structures we put around ourselves.

What support did I have? What accountability? What was the project I created? Who did I involve? What did the environment look like?

Turns out it makes a much bigger difference. (Not to mention, you get to be a lot kinder to yourself.)