Keep score of what matters to you, not what matters to the people watching.

Borrowed scoreboards are easy to end up on. Likes, who got picked, what somebody’s parents brag about, a number on a screen. You can win on all of those and still feel like nothing is happening, because what was being measured was never what you wanted. Choosing your own measure is unglamorous and it is the only way progress registers.

Write down two things you want to be true in a year, with no reference to anybody noticing. Pick one habit or number that tracks each. Check them monthly rather than daily, and ignore whatever is being counted around you.