The way you approach small, seemingly insignificant tasks directly shapes your identity and determines your ability to succeed in larger endeavors, as every action builds either momentum or a pattern of failure.
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You're probably watching this while
doing something else. Maybe scrolling
through your phone, maybe eating, maybe
half working on something in another
tab. And that's fine. I do it, too. We
all do. But this matters more than you
think. The way you do one thing is the
way you do everything. And I'm not
trying to sound like some motivational
speaker. I mean this literally. The way
you approach the smallest tasks in your
life, the ones you think don't matter,
they're actually programming how you
approach everything else. Let me
explain. You ever have one of those days
where everything just clicks? You wake
up early without hitting snooze. You
make your bed. You go to the gym. You
get your work done. You eat clean. By
the end of the day, you feel
unstoppable. Like you could take on the
world. Then there are the other days.
You sleep in. You skip your routine. You
tell yourself it's fine. It's just one
morning. But then the rest of the day
falls apart, too. You're unproductive.
You're lazy. You make excuses. And by
the time you go to bed, you feel like,
"What happened?" Most people think these
are just random good and bad days. That
motivation comes and goes. That
sometimes you have it and sometimes you
don't. That's not what's happening.
Every single action you take is either
building momentum or killing it. And
your brain keeps track of all of it.
When you hit snooze instead of getting
up, you just taught yourself that not
following through is fine. When you
leave your bed unmade, you started your
day with a loss. Your brain registered
that you had one task and you didn't do
it. Now it knows quitting is an option.
People don't realize this, but your
brain doesn't separate small stuff from
big stuff. It doesn't know the
difference between skipping a workout
and abandoning a goal. It just knows you
said you'd do something and then didn't.
That's the pattern it learns. You think
you can slack off on things that don't
seem important and still show up when it
matters. But everything you do is
building your identity. Every single
decision is proof of who you are. Sloppy
with small things means sloppy with
everything. Make excuses for easy tasks.
And those same excuses show up when
things get hard. You can't be lazy at
home but focused at work. You can't be
undisiplined with your health, but
disciplined with your career. Your
habits don't live in separate boxes.
They're all connected. The person
showing up late to small things shows up
late to important things. The person
half-assing easy projects half-asses big
opportunities. This works both ways,
though. When you start treating small
tasks like they matter, everything else
improves. Make your bed, that's a win.
Show up on time. Another win. Reply to a
message immediately instead of putting
it off. That's momentum building. Each
small action proves to yourself that
you're someone who follows through.
You're not just washing dishes. You're
proving you finish what you start. Stack
enough of these wins and something
shifts. You stop needing motivation for
every little thing. You've built an
identity around being someone who does
what needs to be done. So when something
difficult shows up, it doesn't feel
impossible. You've already proven a
hundred times that day you can do hard
things. Most people wait for big moments
to try. They think they'll magically
become disciplined when it counts, like
they're saving their effort for when it
really matters. Discipline doesn't work
like that. You don't flip it on and off.
You either have it or you don't. And you
build it through small, boring,
repetitive actions nobody sees. Want to
know if someone's actually going to
succeed? Don't look at their goals.
Don't look at what they say. Look at how
they handle mundane stuff. Do they clean
up after themselves? Show up on time.
Finish small tasks before starting new
ones. If they can't handle small things
with intention, they won't handle big
things either. Real example, you're
trying to build something, a business, a
channel, whatever. You tell yourself
you're all in, willing to do whatever it
takes. You've got the vision and the
plan, but you procrastinate on research.
You skip boring tasks because they're
not exciting. You tell yourself these
don't matter because the real work is
strategy, execution, big picture stuff.
You're already failing, though. The way
you handle small tasks shows exactly how
you'll handle important ones. This
pattern is everywhere. Relationships.
You can't be present for small
conversations, but expect to handle big
ones. Fitness. You can't skip stretching
but expect to show up for intense
workouts. Work. You can't ignore details
but expect the big picture to work out.
Same person leaving dishes in the sink
leaves projects half finished. Same
person always 5 minutes late misses
deadlines. So what do you actually do
about this? Pay attention. Not because
small stuff matters by itself, but
because of what it represents. Every
action either reinforces who you are or
builds who you want to become. Every
decision trains you to be a certain type
of person. Want to be someone who
follows through? Start following through
on everything. Especially stuff that
feels pointless. That's where real work
happens. That's where you build the
foundation. These sound basic because
they are. But basic doesn't mean easy.
Most people can't do basic things
consistently. That's why most people
don't get results. They're waiting for
some massive breakthrough while ignoring
fundamentals. There will be days you
slip where you're tired or stressed or
just don't feel like it. Nobody's
perfect. But on those days, the small
stuff matters even more. That's when
you're really deciding who you are.
Anyone can be disciplined when
motivated, when everything's going well,
when they're excited. The real test is
what you do when you don't feel like it.
When you're tired, when nobody's
watching, when it would be easier to
skip it, that's the moment that matters.
That's where you either build discipline
or break it. You don't need massive
transformation. You don't need to
overhaul your entire life overnight.
Just treat the next thing in front of
you like it matters. Over time, these
small decisions compound. They build a
version of you capable of things the old
you couldn't do. They create momentum,
making hard stuff feel manageable. They
prove you're not the person who gives up
anymore. The opposite is true, too.
Small, bad decisions compound just as
fast. Before you know it, you've built a
pattern of quitting that shows up
everywhere. Every decision is a vote for
the type of person you want to be. You
don't need to win every vote, but you
need to win most of them. And the only
way to win most of them is to start
winning the small ones. That's when you
find out who you actually are. And if
you don't like who that is right now,
you can change it. Not tomorrow, not
next week, with the next decision you
make. The way you do one thing is the
way you do everything. So, how are you
doing things right now? Are you building
momentum or destroying it? Are you
proving to yourself you're someone who
follows through or someone who quits?
Every single action counts. Every single
decision matters. And that person, the
one you're building with every small
choice, is either going to achieve
everything you want or stay exactly
where you are right now. The choice is
yours. But you're making it right now,
whether you realize it or not.
I write a weekly letter called a Last
Stair. It's free, simple, and written to
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