When establishing a habit, repetition is fundamental. And since this is the case, it’s important that secondary issues don’t get in the way of actually doing what we set out to do.
For instance, if I want to make a habit of exercising daily, the most important thing to do is to actually exercise today. If researching what gear I should use, or what shoes I should wear, or what exercise regiment is best, ends up distracting me from actually exercising, then I have a problem.
Or this blog, for instance. My primary goal was to start writing daily. And since that was my target, I didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about colors, or typography, or which blogging platform was best. I used what I had, and got started. Not that these other things don’t have a place, or aren’t important. But ultimately, they are secondary to the main objective right now, which is to establish a habit.
Discerning the primary from the secondary helps us focus our time and effort on what matters most, and gives us the best shot of actually accomplishing our intended goal.