Keep Going
On February 5, 1930, Albert Einstein wrote in a letter to his son:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
It’s a simple truth we all intuitively feel - that motion, in any form, is what keeps us steady. It’s what prevents us from falling over, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Starting vs. Continuing
Last week, I wrote about the importance of starting. About how it feels like the hardest part.
But the deeper truth I’ve come to realise is this:
The hardest part isn’t starting. It’s believing - every single day - that starting was worth it.
It’s believing that the small, unseen actions matter. That the effort you put in on the quiet days, when no one’s watching, when no one’s applauding, adds up.
This is the true test of resilience - not the first step, but the next one, and the one after that.
Staying Consistent in a World of Distractions
In our modern world, options are endless. There’s always a new idea, hobby, or goal waiting around the corner. It is absolutely possible to start a new thing every week only to drop it after a while, start a new thing and so on. And while exploration matters, constantly starting over keeps us stuck in a loop of half-finished beginnings.
We become beginners at everything and masters of nothing. That scattered energy is exhausting. And unfulfilling.
We all have some sort of to-do lists, whether it's shopping or something more serious like weekly/monthly tasks or life goals. Unfortunately, for most people those lists end up being “Things to do that will never get done” lists.
For a long time, I hated to-do lists. They felt like a pile of endless, joyless chores. But college taught me something powerful - those lists track the invisible progress we forget to notice.
Once you see how much you've "Done", it gives you power to keep on "To-doing”.
Fast forward a few years and you will see how much you have accomplished.
Fast forward a few years, and those once-annoying lists will turn into proof.
Proof that small, daily efforts build something much bigger than we imagine in the moment.
Focus on Systems, Not Streaks
It’s not about doing the most - it’s about showing up daily. The thing is, we do have the power to transform our life, but we can only do it one day at a time.
Progress is built in the quiet, repeated actions that compound over time.
This is what James Clear nailed in Atomic Habits:
“Success is the product of daily habits - not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”
The first pillar of growth isn’t intensity, it’s consistency. And consistency begins with having the right system for your goals.
Start by organising your week ahead.
What’s that - you’re thinking I’m crazy for suggesting you plan out an entire 7 days? Okay, no problem. Let’s dial it back.
Start by organising your day ahead.
One day. That’s it.
Master the day, and the week will start to fall into place on its own. Jot down tasks that matter to you - not just the errands, but the activities aligned with your personal growth, values, and goals.
Plan your chores around your priorities, not the other way around.
Get a notebook, a whiteboard, an app - whatever works for YOU - and start writing things down in a form of a checklist:
Tasks you do every week to be your best self
New tasks as they come, assigning them a realistic day and time
Recurring routines that build your foundation
You’ll find that a lot of the mental stress comes from trying to remember everything all the time.
When you unload those thoughts onto paper or digitally, you realise you have more time and mental clarity than you thought. More time to do more things and be productive.
Create your own system.
Life Is a Practice, Not a Product
I’ve been reflecting a lot on the small, unnoticed daily things I do:
Washing dishes. Tidying my inbox. Folding laundry. Cleaning counters.
To what end?
It’s a question I’ve asked myself and I’ve come to realise - there isn’t “an end.”
Life isn’t a product we complete, it’s a practice we continue.
Spiders weave their fading webs - not for the future, but for a future. They weave, wait, repair because that’s what it takes to live. Their webs often catch nothing, they get damaged, or totally destroyed. All of their efforts will disappear over time, and that’s totally natural.
And yet, they weave again.
That’s what it means to live.
We have started cultivating a rather unnatural context of effort. Much of our effort has become commoditized and transactional. We work for money. We workout for health. We learn for skills. We share for likes. We eat for enjoyment.
Sadly somewhere along the way, we began measuring effort solely by what it gets us. But not every effort needs to be transactional.
Some efforts are their own reward.
Because effort itself is how we stay in motion.
How we keep balance.
How we grow.
So here’s your reminder:
Keep showing up, even on the days when you don’t feel like it.
Progress comes from showing up daily.
Life doesn’t come with training wheels, so we pedal through the chaos, hoping not to crash. So when in doubt, just keep pedalling, because stopping isn’t really an option.
Most importantly - keep going. Especially on the quiet days.
