July 14, 2026- Doing the work

The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.

~John Ruskin

It’s the process. It will always be the process. Results are flawed. We can’t go through our lives in double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments every time we want to establish a new practice. We can do the wrong thing and stumble into the result we were looking for. We can do all the right things and fail to be rewarded with immediate results.

When we put the work in, day after day, especially during the times when we don’t particularly feel like it, we will become capable of continuing that work. We will be able to withstand some results that disappoint us without giving up. Our work will make us more resilient. Our work will make us more patient. Our work will build the discipline needed to see things through.

Let’s not be fooled into thinking we have control of the universe. Many factors well outside our control play into our wins and our losses. If we use those results as the only indicator of the efficacy of our actions, we will become impulsive and inconsistent. If we try to align our actions with our intentions, try to live as the best version of us would live, our results will take care of themselves.

Build the person you want to be by doing the work. Our habits will define us.