Today is the day after a milestone.
For most, the day after a birthday is a return to the default. The celebration ends, the messages stop, and the “real world” rushes back in to fill the space.
But there is a specific trap in the day after. It is the assumption that because the date has changed, the trajectory has changed. We often mistake a marker for a shift in momentum.
In leadership and in life, we are prone to overestimating the “event” and underestimating the “interval.”
We focus on the launch, the hire, the birthday, or the quarterly meeting. These are high-energy, high-visibility moments. They feel like progress. But the consequences of our lives are not built during the event; they are built in the quiet, unobserved intervals between them.
The question for today isn’t what happened yesterday. The question is: What assumption are you carrying into today simply because it’s “business as usual” again?
When the world feels loud and the pace feels frantic, the greatest risk is not making a wrong decision. The risk is making a decision based on the momentum of the crowd rather than the clarity of the trade-off.
Every choice to move fast is a choice to ignore detail. Every choice to seek consensus is a choice to dilute conviction. Every choice to return to the default is a choice to stop questioning the path.
We don’t need more motivation to start. We need the intellectual discipline to see where we are actually going.
The weight you carry today is the same as it was two days ago. The difference is whether you are reacting to the noise of the world, or examining the assumptions that got you here.
What are you currently ignoring because you are too busy reacting to what is happening next?
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
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