Your Private Habits Are Writing Your Public Life

The Importance of Rigour and Diligence

There’s a line from the great samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi that has followed me for years:

“You can only fight the way you practice.”

Miyamoto musashi

Meaning, how you practice is how you fight. It’s deceptively simple. But once you sit with it, it becomes clear. How we show up in the small, private, unglamorous moments is exactly how we show up when it counts.

Most of our days are filled with tasks we rush through just to tick off a list.
We chase the relief of completion – the opposite of the Zeigarnik effect, where unfinished tasks tug at our minds. But in that rush, something subtle happens. We start practicing mediocrity. We start rehearsing “just enough.” And without noticing, “just enough” becomes our default.

Musashi’s wisdom reminds us that practice becomes habit, and habit becomes character. So every day, I try imperfectly, humanly, to do my best in the small things.

Optimum Excellence, not Perfection is the Goal

This doesn’t just apply to fighting. It’s about the quiet discipline of daily life – the way habits shape identity, and how the smallest actions become the architecture of who we are.

As a child, my mum would tell me not to pick my nose at home. I’d protest, “But I won’t do it outside!”
She’d reply, “Once it becomes a habit, you’ll do it without realising.” Her philosophy was simple: how you do it once is how you’ll do it always.

Get it right early. Get it right privately. Get it right when no one is watching.

We often think the opposite of perfectionism is laziness or low standards. But when I looked it up, the definitions surprised me. Some excerpts below:

• What is the opposite of perfectionism? Wordhippo.com describes it as “a willingness to settle for less than best, acceptance of minor errors, and a realistic pursuit of excellence rather than perfection.”
• The Opposite of Perfection – Happy Living Happyliving frames it as being fully in the moment — flow.
• 5 Quotes by Brené Brown That Will Change the Way You See Yourself | by Sinem Günel | Mind Cafe | Medium An article on purports, “The opposite of being a perfectionist is having the courage to get started, even when you know you could fail”.

The real enemy isn’t imperfection. It’s the paralysis that comes from chasing an impossible ideal and unrealistic standards. . This mindset often causes stress, anxiety and a fear of failure, hindering personal growth and affecting our wellbeing.

How to Live Optimum Excellence

In contrast to Perfectionism, Optimum excellence is grounded, sustainable, and deeply human. It’s about continuous improvement, resilience, and wellbeing – not just flawless execution. With optimum excellence our goal then is to achieve flow state as much as possible in our daily lives for maximum fulfilment. We’re only here for a short while so why not enjoy every moment of it?

Here are three practices to help you live in a state of optimum excellence — not perfection, not pressure, but presence and purpose.

1. The Million‑Dollar Method – Mel Robbins once shared how Terry Crews approached his early Hollywood career: He treated every task — no matter how small — as if he were being paid a million dollars for it. This mindset pulls you into flow. You give your best because it feels good, not because someone is watching. And in that state, you discover your potential.
2. The Power of Now – Knowing that ‘now’, the present moment (which is constantly changing by virtue of the arrow of time moving forward), is the only moment and being present in the only thing that matters. Being present prevents squandering of energy lamenting about the past (memory) or worrying about the future (imagination). When we anchor our awareness in the present moment (a byproduct of concentration) we’re able to harness a 100% of our energy and pour it into the task at hand. Presence is concentration. Concentration is energy. Energy is flow. And flow is where optimum excellence lives.
3. Remember Your Why – Every task has an origin story. Why does it matter? Does it still align with your values? If the task no longer fits your life, re‑evaluate its urgency or importance. If it’s non‑negotiable, find a thread that ties it back to your purpose. Meaning transforms dread into momentum.

Inspirational writer and entrepreneur Sahil Bloom, wrote an article in for his newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle highlighting a similar point about – You’re Always Building Your Own House | The Curiosity Chronicle. Great read!

Think about it

Which task this week deserves your million‑dollar effort?