Miss Once vs Miss Twice

A quote that resonated with me recently, from a long-dead Polish pianist 🎹

If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.

– Ignacy Jan Paderewski

This reminds me of the “never miss twice” rule from James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

The idea is that, when building a good habit or breaking a bad one, inevitably you’ll drop the ball. You might miss a workout, or fail to hit your pitch target for the day, or whatever.

Missing once is okay, it happens. But make sure you don’t miss two times in a row. As James writes…

Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.