I went swimming one day last week and I was slower than the day before. Going backwards. That is the day most people quit, or skip, or decide the whole thing is not working. I got in the water anyway.
A week later, I was faster than both of those days. Not because of one great session. Because of all of them, including the one where I went backwards.
I am fasting for Navratri. My shoulder is sore. There were good reasons to skip. I have learned that good reasons to skip are always available. That is why they are not a good filter.
Here is what I think is true about progress. It does not come from the heroic days. It comes from the ordinary days when you show up and do the thing at whatever speed you have that day. The fast days are the receipt. The slow days are the payment.
This is not really about swimming. Swimming is just where I can see it clearly, because the clock does not lie and the water does not care about excuses. The same rule holds everywhere else. In business, in health, in anything worth building. Show up on the slow days. That is where the progress is made.