Can You Stick With It Long Enough?

It's day 47 of documenting 2025.

11 seconds ago, I could have made a big mistake.

Purely on impulse.

Thankfully, I didn't.

Here's what happened.

I run a Substack newsletter.

It started as a way to practice writing copy when I went completely offline in the months of September and October last year.

Then, I was my only subscriber.

I just wanted to see what my own emails would look like in my inbox.

I came back online, after establishing a publishing plan and themes for each post.

I started sending out emails three times weekly.

I compiled the headlines for my first week back online in a Notes app.

3 Headlines.....Online Week 1.

I did the same for online week 2, down to week 14.

Last week was week 15, and I only posted once for the first time.

So far, I've gained 59+ subscribers, written my first 50 posts and learned a lot from engaging with other creators on the Substack platform.

So many lessons learned in trial and error.

So many insights.

And I wanted to throw it all away.

Well, I thought about it this way:

Is it better to continue with what you started even though the intent was different?

Or is it better to scrap it all and start from scratch with a new intent?

I thought of deleting the newsletter again.

Like, I was so into the idea of 'starting over' and I felt the push to act.

I switched on my data connection, ready to log into to Substack, with the bright red "delete" button on my mind.

But I stopped for a moment.

"Why do you want to delete it?" I asked myself.

I started to think......🤔 

The sleepless nights I've had, trying to get down the body content for each post.

The joy I felt when I saw 'a new subscriber' Substack email.

The pride I felt when my email landed in my inbox, making me aware that others received theirs as well.

Even when my email open rates were 10%, it still felt good that some percentage of people received and opened my emails.

I turned off my data connection.

"Not anymore", my mind whispered.

My Substack newsletter may not be the best in the world.

But for a girl using just her smartphone for a blog, Facebook page and Substack newsletter, I'm doing a pretty good job 👍 

The idea of owning a mailing list is still valid (One blog, one social media, one email list).

And it hasn't been up to a year since I started.

Who knows? I may be closer to my breakthrough and not know it.

Besides, there are some pretty good pieces of writing there.

Something I can showcase on my portfolio.

Now I'm saying this to myself,

"Girl, what were you thinking?

Deleting all of your hard work?

Next time, think it through!"

Last night, I thought of the changes I would be making.

Then I decided on a new theme.

Two posts only, per week.

Saturday and Sunday.

A weekend theme.

I also decided to focus on online writing as my main topic.

Writing as an art and writing as a business.

I also thought about my exams coming up and the fact that I have to study for them.

A friend gave me ideas on how to come up with a study plan that I would stick to.

Until the exam day itself.

I'm going to write down a target goal, action steps and get to work.

Everything else will have to be on hold.

Except this blog, of course 🙂 

That's all for the updates on my end.

How are things going on your end?

I'm hoping you're happy how the past week went.

I'm also hoping you're ready for the new week.

This week will go well for us all.

I believe so 😌

Now, I would like to share some highlights from today's note.

Today's note in 365 Days With Self-discipline.

"Since self-discipline shines in the long term, and often doesn’t seem to provide any benefits in the short term, you may be tempted to believe that people who are loafing around have it better."

"It might seem they have it better, but sooner or later the person exposing himself or herself to discomfort for the sake of achieving their long-term goals

will come out on top, while the people loafing around will get to feel the negative consequences of their laziness."

In short,

Don't compare yourself as you work hard to those who goof off and gain short term rewards.

Your persistence will pay you in the long term. Keep going.

I probably should tell myself that.

I thought of deleting my newsletter because I haven't seen any results from it in terms of clicks and sales.

But I see myself doing it in the long term, so I'll stick with it.

No matter what.

Sometimes, this mind is like a battlefield.

I think of something, some idea.

Then other thoughts rage against the idea, especially because it doesn't show any chance of initial success.

How the idea wins?

I write it down on paper.

There, it can live in peace.

I continue to flesh out the idea and write down action steps.

The raging thoughts, still in my head continue to give me reasons why it may not work.

Valid reasons I may agree with.

It may not be the right time.

But I got down the idea, something that may be relevant in the future.

Let me share some quotes from the book by Anthony Robbins.

Awake The Giant Within.

"The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. 

If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you."

"Learn from your decisions. There's no way around it. 

At times, you're going to screw up, no matter what you do. 

And when the inevitable happens, instead of beating yourself into the ground, learn something."

"This "failure" may be an unbelievable gift in disguise if you use it to make better decisions in the future. 

Rather than focus on the short-term setback, choose instead to learn lessons that can save you time, money, or pain, and that will give you the ability to succeed in the future."

PS. These are randomly selected....I couldn't think of anything else to type on today's post.

(I hope it's not writer's block!!)

I just needed to remind myself of them and I hope you learned a thing or two.

Thanks for reading, my friend 😊 

Cheers to your success in the new week! 

Let's keep working.

Let's keep striving to obtain.

Let's stay consistent on the goal.

We will make it! 💪

This post may be short but one thing is sure.

I'm documenting 2025.

By the way, I'm Duon Ada.