Slow progress you’re honest about beats fast progress you’re pretending to make.

Pretend progress has to be maintained. You spend energy keeping the story going instead of moving, and the gap between the story and the truth widens every week until something forces it open. You always know where you actually stand when you are honest, so you can always pick the next real step.

Say one true number out loud this week. How many pages you have actually read, how many practices you have actually done. Then plan from that number instead of the flattering one.