That's the old AA maxim, "Always have a drink in your hand and you'll never want a drink. " That's one of the most classic deceptions in the literature: "I'll take a drink tomorrow. " I actually don't think that's necessarily a very helpful maxim in AA, but it's a very good maxim in showing how strategic self-deception can be employed, even self-consciously. That's the amazing thing, to me, about self-deception.
Gretchen Rubin
We tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period, and underestimate what we can do over a long period, provided we work slowly and consistently. Anthony Trollope, the nineteenth-century writer who managed to be a prolific novelist while also revolutionizing the British postal system, observed, “A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules. ” Over the long run, the unglamorous habit of frequency fosters both productivity and creativity.
