We imagine the perfect setting will cause us to develop the habits we want to develop, but it won’t.
The perfect writing nook, the incredible gym, or the ideal kitchen will certainly provide a burst of initial inspiration and get us going. But they do nothing to overcome resistance, and resistance is inevitable.
The worst part about the perfect setting is that it buys extra time. We feel OK not getting the real work done because we are getting all setup, playing with setting, and thinking about what we’ll do. Worse still, the perfect setting crushes us if we don’t achieve what we wanted. Even with this perfect setup, I’ve squandered it – I’m such a loser!
Setting does matter.
But it’s better to relentlessly hone the habit before you create the perfect setting. Without distraction or excuse, you can hone the habit wherever you are.
Then, once the discipline is as natural as breathing, you find or craft that setting.
When a seasoned practitioner steps into the ideal setting, magic happens.
When the deprivations, limitations, and annoyances of the non-ideal setting are removed from one who’s learned to work in spite of them, new levels of precision and power are unlocked.
Put in the work. Prepare in season and out of season. Do it wherever you are. When the perfect setting avails itself, you want to be ready to really seize it.