Dominoes never ask permission before they fall. Watch which one you tip first.

Chains do not check with you halfway through. Once the first piece goes, the rest follows on its own logic and at its own speed, and the point where you had any say was before that first one moved. That is why the beginning of something deserves more attention than the middle.

For anything that has gone badly before, find the first move in the sequence. It is usually small and specific: a message sent at midnight, a skipped breakfast, a yes said too fast. Put your effort there rather than on the recovery.