Reality Splinters: Applicable clarity

In January, we focused on Highlights - not as a glossy recap, but as a way to stop overlooking what actually carried us. There’s something calming about that: you realise you lived more (and often did more) than your mind gives you credit for in the middle of everyday life.

And then February arrives. The present. It’s rarely poetic - it’s practical.

That’s why the February series is called Reality Splinters: short lines from everyday life that can sting a little, because they’re true. Not “motivation,” but clarity. Not big promises, but small experiments you can genuinely test.

A lot of us don’t fail because we don’t know what to do. We fail because we keep making exceptions. We collect options when a decision is what’s needed. We call it “research,” even when it’s really just a polished delay. And the more everything feels important at once, the more likely it is that… nothing moves. Then the easy thing wins. The loud thing wins. The quick thing wins, not necessarily the thing that matters.

Your calendar is surprisingly honest. It doesn’t show what you value, it shows what you protect. If something never gets scheduled, it doesn’t “fall short.” It simply doesn’t get defended. That’s not moralising, it’s a useful diagnosis. And diagnoses help because they make change possible.

Many people wait for motivation, as if we need to feel “ready” first. But motivation loves easy days and disappears on the days that count. Standards are less glamorous, but far more reliable. Sometimes “start for 7 minutes” is enough to move from thinking back into doing.

And then there are the open loops: things not decided yet, not closed yet, still “pending.” They cost attention even when you’re not actively thinking about them. Not deciding is still a decision, you’re just handing it over. It often feels lighter the moment you close one thing intentionally: yes / no / not now — with a date.

Willpower helps but it doesn’t last forever. In the long run, what wins is what you make easy: a supportive environment and a small minimum you can actually do every day.

Remove one point of friction. Make the right thing simpler. Define the smallest version of a habit, so small you’d repeat it tomorrow. Two minutes count. Not because two minutes change everything, but because they help you experience yourself as someone who stays with it.

If you’d like: what’s one open loop you want to close this week?