As a consultant, I have helped companies cut costs. But 3-5 years later, many of these costs come right back up. In fact, most company initiatives work well for a while, and then, regress.
The same thing happens to us individually — we build new habits (e.g., start gymming), stick to them for a while, and then, our discipline weakens and we are back to square one.
Should this make us despondent? Is real change even possible?
To answer this, let us take an example. You start your Sunday morning in a nice, clean living room, but by evening, the room is a mess. So do you throw up your hands and never clean up the room again?
No! The very next day, you spend 10 minutes cleaning up the room and reset it. And you repeat this day after day.
On its own, the disorder goes up, but by putting in some effort, you bring it down. This is what thermodynamics says, albeit more elegantly.
This is what is happening to us. All our good habits are subject to entropy and decay. But just like cleaning up the room, invest some time, find where the discipline is weakening, and tighten it.
And do it again and again. This is the only way to fight back entropy.
What we see as consistency, is often a series of minor setbacks and restarts. The ‘straight line’ consistency is a myth.
– Rajan