This post won’t resonate with everyone, but if you’re here, it is reasonable to assume that you’re the kind of person who’s averse to mediocrity. For people like us, showing up as our “average self” usually means procrastinating and wasting time on things that don’t truly matter. [[Identity|In my last post]] I talked about how our identity and the way we feel about ourselves guide our actions. When we’re not feeling sharp and at our peak, but instead uninspired and out of control — our actions and decisions mirror that. It’s near impossible to feel motivated after spending too long in a state of average. You can’t blame yourself (well, not entirely— after all, we did bring ourselves here). To switch into peak mode, we need to take bold action. We commit to something big and novel. That simple act of commitment reignites the excitement we lose when we’re stuck in average mode. We feel most alive at the extremes. We wake up while the world is still asleep, push harder than anyone else in the gym, and commit fully to leveling up our skills. Each of these actions reinforces a strong self-perception, fueling our motivation to stay disciplined and continue on this path. When we escape the grip of average and adopt this new mindset and way of living, what once felt hard suddenly becomes second nature. No hesitation. No obstacles. No internal debates about whether to procrastinate more or whether the pain of procrastinating is too crushing. One logical reason to take extreme measures — for those who aren’t convinced yet — is that it builds a habit. As the saying goes: “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems”. Besides crafting an unwavering identity as someone determined, disciplined, and action-oriented, you build systems of habit that make desired behaviors automatic. Instead of setting a goal to write twice a week, focus on building the habit of writing every day. Two weeks ago, I made a public commitment to write and publish two blog posts a day and failed miserably. I was still in average mode, drifting through insignificant acts, lacking the drive that comes from being radical: radical indistractability, radical execution, radical efficiency. Today, I made a new commitment — to write every single day for the next 30 days. Day 1/30 complete.