I welcomed September with a promise and challenge to myself:

To publish an atomic essay every day for 30 days.

The reason? I wanted to establish a writing habit. I had my capture system set up so I can collect ideas that may spark future content. I’ve blocked a writing schedule on my calendar. Honestly, this experiment was going well, but after 10 days of publishing my thoughts, I broke my streak (this time, unintentionally).

I had two options: to beat myself up about it and quit, or to pick up where I left off.

Now that you’re reading this, you know that I ended up doing the latter. I forgave myself and practiced what I preached here, sat down, and began again.

The secret to being consistent is self-compassion.

There are many reasons why we miss a day or break a streak—sometimes, it’s our tendencies working against us, our perfectionism blocking our creativity with resistance, or the creative season we find ourselves in. Sometimes, we’re just strapped for time and caught up in a flurry of social festivities.

Whatever the reason is, the most productive thing to do when we miss the mark is to learn from it, be gentle with ourselves, and try again.

Again and again and again.