Low tide shows you what was hiding under the surface. Hard weeks do the same to your habits.

When the water drops you can see the bottom, and the bottom was always like that. Easy weeks hide a lot: you can get away with no sleep, no system and no honesty while nothing is pulling at you. A hard stretch does not create your weak habits, it exposes them, which feels like being punished and is closer to being shown.

After the next bad week, instead of just being relieved it ended, write down the first three things that slipped. Those are your real foundations, and one of them is worth rebuilding before the tide goes out again.