Adopting practices instead of rules

I don't really like following rules.

But recently, I started writing five days a week. I used to find it hard to sit down and write. Now, I'm excited about finding out what I'll end up creating.

Instead of forcing myself to do something I didn't want to do, I adopted a practice. It's basically the same thing, but in one case I experience empowerment instead of drudgery.

Now, I know exactly how much work I have to do to reach my goal.

Writing 0 days a year has a clear outcome: you will see no benefit from the written word.

Writing 260 days a year has a clear outcome too:

1. You will get better at it.
2. Other people will notice.
3. It will impact your bottom line.

Adopting a practice comes with a baseline for the results you should expect.

This applies to security too. You have to balance discouraging and encouraging behavior.

It gets annoying to always hear "You're not allowed".

But following a practice creates a strong sense of competence.

It's easy to measure. You can count the number of days you followed through.

There are no numbers to game. You only need to keep your ratio close to 100%. You can also measure your winning streak, the number of consecutive wins.

It's great for forecasts, because with regularity comes certainty.

It emphasizes capability instead of vulnerability, which is much more empowering.

And it means investing in people, not bureaucracy.