make deposits when you can
sure, those too
A few days back I came across a post on the socials from an M.D. who made a great analogy comparing our health and fitness to a retirement account. He says “we want to increase the frequency of those deposits- large or small- into your physical 401k. It all counts”.
This reminds me of another phrase that swims around my brain matter from time to time: Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good”.
The above phrases are helpful reminders that no matter what we’re trying to accomplish some days the energy will be pumping on all cylinders, combustion will be cracking and molecules popping, and you’ll hit every turn just right and you’ll feel those turns before they happen, like a superpower. You are now the machine and the machine is now you! And yet.. there are some days where mustering the energy of just showing up to the garage is all you can do.
Both of these kinds of days have a function. They are but small pieces of a larger whole.
For writers, some days you can write a whole story in a few hours. Other days writing feels like squeezing water from a rock. For musicians, a new song sometimes flows from your fingers with ease and grace. Other days you just can’t seem to play through a song you’ve already rehearsed for a gazillion hours. For athletes, some weeks you can hit a PR on multiple lifts. Other weeks you just don’t have it in you to lift.
Big or small, these are all deposits. Do what you can, don’t be hard on yourself. Augment, adapt, lasso the energy and use it to move differently, see it from a different angle. Your energy may not be consistent, but your level of discipline is your choice.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. A little bit, a lot.
Rock n’ roll.
-Tyler
- - - - - - - -
The best way to support The Cannon Dispatch is to:
Like the posts.
Leave a comment (even if it’s “hi!”).
(Most importantly) share with someone who you think might like it.
You can pay for a subscription here on Substack. For now this provides no additional benefits other than knowing you’ve donated some money to something you like. I am brainstorming ways to incentivize readers/listeners to do this by making subscriber-only posts, but we are not there yet (and might never be).
You can buy me a coffee by using this button:
Great post. We can be so hard on ourselves to be perfect. Absolutely. What’s in our nature to be like this?
This sounds a lot like many conversations we have had. As always, very good read my good sir. Needed that insight today.