Success is a few simple disciplines, practised every day; while failure is
simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. Jim Rohn
One-percentage-point improvements pile up quickly. So do one percent declines.
Rather than attempting to achieve something spectacular from the start, begin small and start developing. Along
the process, your willpower and motivation will grow, making it simpler to stick to your habit for the long
term.
Marginal Gains Aggregation
It is all too tempting to exaggerate the significance of a single defining moment while underestimating
the value of making little everyday gains. We tend to mislead ourselves that huge success necessitates
massive action. We put pressure on ourselves to make some earth-shattering improvement, whether it is
losing weight, creating a business, publishing a book, winning a championship, or reaching any other
objective.
Meanwhile, improving by 1% isn't really significant—in fact, it's barely noticeable—but it can be
significantly more significant, especially in the long run. It's amazing how much of a difference a
small improvement can make over time. Here's how the math works: if you improve by 1% every day for a
year, you'll be 37 times better by the end. In contrast, if you get 1% worse every day for a year,
you'll be virtually at zero. What begins as a tiny victory or a minor setback grows into much more.
At first, there isn't much of a difference between choosing a choice that is 1% better or 1% worse.
However, as time passes, these minor gains or losses add up, and you suddenly find a very large gap
between people who make slightly better decisions on a regular basis and those who don't. This is why
minor decisions don't seem to make much of a difference at first but build up over time.
Setting a timeline to never miss twice can help to keep tiny mistakes from spinning out of control.