Your ambition should survive a bad week. If it doesn’t, it was a mood, not a goal.

Enthusiasm and commitment feel identical on a good day and separate completely on a bad one. A real goal keeps running at a reduced level when you are tired, behind and unimpressed with yourself; a mood simply stops and takes the plan with it. That is not a character flaw, just the difference between a feeling and a decision. The test only ever runs during rough weeks.

Work out the smallest version of your thing you could still manage on your worst day. Fifteen minutes, one page, one set. Use that version during the next bad week instead of stopping.