I'm beginning to believe that goals are the most fragile form of personal progress, and habits are the most antifragile.

When you set a goal, you create an expectation for the future. Time is against you (Introduction to Options (Part III)) because randomness is the rule ((Fooled by Randomness #citation)), not the exception. If you don't succeed at reaching your goal, there is only a binary outcome: success or failure. It's zero sum, and therefore can be discouraging when you don't meet your goals explicitly.

On the other hand, habits are about what you have control over. It's a repeated step that is done on a recurring basis (Game loops help players learn) for an extended period of time. And if you fail at your habit for a day, you just start again the next day. As your circumstances shift (Clockwork game philosophy builds infinite fun) on a day to day basis, you hone in how best to accomplish your habits. By injecting your habit with the randomness of daily life, they become stronger.

Citations

• Atomic Habits

#toolong