do it again; over and over again...
The most powerful choice you can make isn’t a new one. It’s choosing the same good thing again—and again—until it changes you.
Dearest Gentle Reader,
There is an underrated magic in the word again.
We are often taught to glorify fresh starts and dramatic turning points.
We glorify the new year.
We amplify the new job.
We anticipate being in a new city.
We glorify the big reset that promises to change everything overnight.
We chase these shiny beginnings because they feel exciting, like clean pages in a notebook.
Etc. Etc. Etc…
But life has taught me that real transformation is less about fireworks and more about the discipline of repetition and the courage to return to what is right, steady, and necessary, even when the novelty has worn off.
Think about it…
Anyone can go for a run once. Anyone can cook a healthy meal once. Anyone can be kind once, when they’re in the mood. But the people who change their lives are the ones who return to these choices again. Do the workout, again. Eat the nourishing food, again. Wake up early, again. Forgive, again. Extend trust, again. Love, even when yesterday’s love was bruised—again. Progress rarely shows up as a giant leap. It sneaks in quietly through repeated steps, one consistent “again” at a time.
I have felt this lesson in my own work. Writing, for instance, isn’t glamorous most days. It’s not a burst of inspiration under moonlight with a feather pen scratching brilliance onto parchment. No. It is sitting down at a desk, staring at a blinking cursor, and deciding to type words even when yesterday’s words already tired you out. It is hitting publish, and then returning the next morning to start again. Over time, that choice to write again, edit again, and publish again becomes the foundation of something bigger than inspiration: it becomes a life of practice.
And the same is true for love, kindness, and growth.
Relationships do not survive on grand declarations made once. They thrive on the daily decision to choose each other again.
Faith doesn’t stand because of one powerful prayer; it stands because you return to belief again.
Even joy—yes, even joy—requires practice. We have to notice beauty again, to give thanks again, to laugh again, or else it slips away unnoticed.
Here’s the hard part: again isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes it feels boring.
Sometimes it’ll feel like a battle against your own excuses.
Sometimes it’ll feel pointless, because progress doesn’t always show up in obvious ways. But this is the secret—what looks small in the moment often grows into something enormous over time. The person you want to be, and the life you want to live, is not built in one dramatic choice. It is built in your decision to show up again and again, even when nobody is clapping.
So, if today feels heavy, or your progress feels invisible, I invite you to take the pressure off yourself. You don’t need a brand-new mountain to climb. You just need the courage to return to the path you already know leads upward. Do the right thing, and then do it again. It is in those repeated steps that transformation blooms.
— Jaachịmmá Anyatọnwụ
This post inspired today's newsletter.