I like that a lot.

I can't fix a flat by finishing a 600K.

But I can finish a 600K by fixing a flat.

When the simple thing is still overwhelming, I haven't broken it down far enough. It's not simple yet.

Tomorrow doesn't exist. The end doesn't exist. Today, do the thing and feel smug, because you won.

/

Here's what I'm trying to get across to anyone overwhelmed with All This Shit:

Don't even try to deal with the Ton of Shit. It's not possible.

Do the one simple thing. That, and only that, is true success.

Good, you're done.

Not a mental trick. Utter truth.

…

Here's what the Randonneurs USA Members' Handbook, 5th Edition had to say about finishing a 600K. When I went looking for it just now, I didn't remember that I'd ever highlighted it, but it's that meaningful to me.

(Yes, I intentionally maxed out character count with the uuuuuu's, because that's how bad it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusuuuuuucks.)

The Huge Scary Thing is a direction check: Does this little thing move me towards the big thing? But actual success along the way = putting a ✅ next to One Simple Thing.

Not *easy*—fixing a chain break with wet, frozen fingers suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks—but simple.

Did I do it?
✅ Success
❌ Not success

The ONLY thing that counts as "success" is nailing that ONE THING.

Out of glycogen, feel horrible, can't finish – stop, eat, make no decisions for 20min.

Is another qualifying ride available if I fail?
Yes: bring less stuff
No: bring it all

Chain broke. Did I bring a chain tool?
Yes: fix
No: walk

Success only looks like "Completed an SR series!" after you've either succeeded or failed.

Success *on the way to that point* looks like this:

Eat/hydrate on schedule.

Fix this flat.

This group's pace will exhaust me – drop back.

I can help this newbie without jeopardizing my finish – do so…

Writing and visual art are both types of art where the audience doesn't see it until after it's done. There's a process, and then after, there's a result. In live music, process and result are the same thing, simultaneously.

"Art?" Beats me. But we're watching as talent and skill create something.

This cheerleading is verging into the offensive. You have no idea what I have or haven't done to date – which is basically everything you just said, apparently before you ever started.

Good luck with your efforts.

Please stop talking down to me.

You go – and I mean that sincerely.

My time and resources are better spent on what happens to my loved ones if the optimism doesn't work.

I'm a little busy with other ways of dealing with All This while working two jobs, but that is an excellent thing for other people to be doing.

No, our beliefs that they are a boulder help us stay rooted in reality and try to figure out how to deal with a boulder.

Their own massive inertia is what makes them a boulder.