The-Slight-Edge

The Secret of Easy Things 41
artery-clogging dietary mayhem, eventually your poor overworked heart just
quits, stops dead. And so do you. It has been said that we dig our graves with
our teeth.
It’s easy to eat well. And it’s easy not to.
It’s not the one junk-food meal; it’s the thousands, over time. Eating the
burger is just a simple error in judgment. Not eating it, a simple positive action.
Eating it won’t kill you—today. But compounded over time, it can and will. Not
eating it won’t save you—today. But compounded over time, it can and will.
A simple, positive action. A simple error in judgment. Either way, it’s the
Slight Edge at work—working for you or working against you. For example, if
you read 10 pages of a good book today will you see success? No. If you don’t
read 10 pages of a good book a day will you see failure? No. They look the
same today.
Invisible results.
Why do you walk past the exercise bike? Because it’s easy. If you don’t
exercise today, will that kill you? No, of course not. You know what you need
to do to stay healthy and feel fit and live a long life. Get your heart rate up, a
little over normal, for twenty minutes, three times a week. You know it, I know it,
everyone knows it. And it’s easy to do.
But it’s also easy not to do. And if you don’t do it today, or tomorrow, or the
next day, you won’t suddenly drop dead, and you won’t suddenly put on twenty
pounds, and you won’t suddenly lose all your muscle tone and flop around
like a marionette with his strings cut off. But that simple error in judgment,
compounded over time, will take you down and out.
It is the same with your health, your diet, your exercise, your financial
habits, your knowledge, your relationships, your marriage. With anything and
everything. With your life.
You see one person eating a good meal, and the person next to him eating an
awful meal. One person saving a penny, another spending a penny. One taking
a brisk walk, another sitting and watching the news. Is there any difference
between the two? Nothing you can see ... not today, and probably not tomorrow.
It’s easy to conclude that it doesn’t really make any difference.
The difference between success and failure is not dramatic. In fact, the
difference between success and failure is so subtle, most people miss it. They hold
the philosophy that what they do doesn’t really matter. It’s not hard to see how
people come to this understanding of life. I don’t blame them. It’s completely
understandable. It’s just not the truth.