[{"_1":2,"_110":-5,"_111":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_30":31,"_72":73,"_109":-5},"routes/_main",{"_5":6},"socialMedia",[7,12,15,18,21,24,27],{"_8":9,"_10":11},"link","mailto:cedar.onyxes0q@icloud.com","icon","mail",{"_8":13,"_10":14},"https://github.com/sjdonado","github",{"_8":16,"_10":17},"rss.xml","rss",{"_8":19,"_10":20},"https://linkedin.com/in/sjdonado","linkedin",{"_8":22,"_10":23},"https://slides.com/sjdonado","presentation",{"_8":25,"_10":26},"https://stackoverflow.com/users/8108856/juan-rodriguez","layers",{"_8":28,"_10":29},"https://vsco.co/sjdonado/gallery","camera","routes/_main.posts",{"_32":33},"tags",[34,39,42,45,48,51,54,57,60,63,66,69],{"_35":36,"_37":38},"id",18,"name","ai",{"_35":40,"_37":41},29,"backend",{"_35":43,"_37":44},31,"bun",{"_35":46,"_37":47},30,"cloud",{"_35":49,"_37":50},25,"databases",{"_35":52,"_37":53},33,"frontend",{"_35":55,"_37":56},6,"life",{"_35":58,"_37":59},13,"performance",{"_35":61,"_37":62},32,"remix",{"_35":64,"_37":65},24,"self-hosted",{"_35":67,"_37":68},15,"sqlite",{"_35":70,"_37":71},14,"tooling","routes/_main.posts._index",{"_74":75,"_108":56},"posts",[76,90,99],{"_35":77,"_78":79,"_80":81,"_82":83,"_8":84,"_32":85,"_86":87},147,"title","Consistency isn’t repetition","date","4/13/2025","description","We are terrible at being the same person two days in a row.","/posts/consistency-isnt-repetition",[56],"content",{"_88":89},"rendered","\n

“Tomorrow, I’ll wake up at 06:00, meditate, work out, and crush my Todo list”. That’s what I often tell myself, but when tomorrow arrives, reality throws a wrench into my well-laid plans, and I’m left wondering why I can’t stick to my script. Does it sound familiar?

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The mismatch between your plans and reality lies in the way that life operates, much more like a relay than a solo run, where each day, a new runner (“today-you”) takes the baton; you are not the same person you were yesterday, but a subtly different version with fresh energy, priorities, and patience.

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This isn’t about laziness. It’s about our evolutionary wiring for instant gratification, our brains prioritize short-term rewards over long-term gains¹. We binge Netflix tonight, aware future-us will pay the price, but tomorrow’s discomfort feels abstract today. This isn’t a moral failure; it’s biology.

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Here’s the pivot: consistency isn’t repetition, it’s continuity. Think of momentum not as a linear path, but as a game where every small effort unlocks future advantages. Instead of demanding identical effort daily, focus on leaving momentum for the next iteration of you. Skipped the gym? Do five push-ups. Overwhelmed by work? Write one sentence. These aren’t compromises — they’re lifelines. Like saving progress in a video game, they ensure tomorrow’s player doesn’t reboot at level one.

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The real challenge? Bridging the empathy gap. If you feel disconnected from your future self, consider this: small investments build trust in your capacity to grow. Reframe future-you as a family member — you wouldn’t abandon a sibling to chaos. Meal prepping, clearing your desk, or evening journaling aren’t tedious chores. They’re strategic passes to a teammate you’re rooting for, even if you’re still building a relationship with them.

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How to create change? You don’t need to have it all figured out. Learn by doing. A failed attempt teaches tomorrow’s self what not to repeat. A half-finished task is a foothold for progress. Action, even messy action, is data, not the final verdict.

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In summary, you don’t have to win the whole game today. Just set the next player up for an easier round. Play your turn fully, savor the moment, and then hand off the controller. Momentum compounds when today’s moves, no matter how small, lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s success.

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The Real Issue With Instant Gratification ↩︎

",{"_35":91,"_78":92,"_80":93,"_82":94,"_8":95,"_32":96,"_86":97},108,"You are the easiest person to fool","3/9/2025","We humans are remarkably good at deceiving ourselves.","/posts/you-are-the-easiest-person-to-fool",[56],{"_88":98},"\n

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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. — Richard Feynman, Cargo Cult Science, Caltech commencement address, 1974.¹
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At the heart of Feynman’s warning lies a simple yet profound truth: we humans are remarkably good at deceiving ourselves. Our brains didn’t evolve primarily to discover objective truth, but to help us survive and sometimes that means prioritizing comfortable beliefs over accurate ones.

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This self-deception works through everyday mental shortcuts: we naturally seek out information that confirms what we already believe; we expertly weave narratives that make our self-interested decisions seem logical; and perhaps most dangerously, we convince ourselves we’re being objective when we’re anything but. What makes these processes so powerful is that they operate largely outside our awareness.

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Feynman recognized that this presents a special challenge to knowledge because we apply different standards to different sources. We’re quick to question claims from others while giving our own thinking process a free pass. This happens because we have insider access to our own motivations; we can craft justifications perfectly tailored to soothe our psychological defenses.

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Today, these cognitive blind spots are systematically amplified. Digital platforms optimize for engagement rather than accuracy, creating spaces where our biases are reinforced rather than challenged. Political divisions intensify as we interpret opposing viewpoints through increasingly hostile filters. Scientific questions become matters of identity rather than evidence.

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Science itself developed its methods: peer review, replication requirements, statistical controls; precisely as defenses against these human tendencies. Yet these safeguards only work when we acknowledge how easily we can fool ourselves.

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Feynman’s insight is not just about good science, it offers a fundamental approach to understanding reality: true knowledge begins with humility about our own mental limitations.

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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that. After you’ve not fooled yourself, it’s easy not to fool other scientists. You just have to be honest in a conventional way after that. https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm ↩︎

",{"_35":100,"_78":101,"_80":102,"_82":103,"_8":104,"_32":105,"_86":106},43,"Should we leave behind the joy of curating our own content?","8/2/2024","","/posts/should-we-leave-behind-the-joy-of-curating-our-own-content",[56],{"_88":107},"\n

For a while, I’ve been reading blog posts, articles, and comment threads about various tech and finance topics. I initially found it convenient to have a Medium subscription, as I thought it would allow me to have a feed automatically shaped by my interests. However, I ended up reading articles prioritized by clickbait, echo chambers and bias.

So, I canceled my subscription and switched to Hacker News. I have discovered amazing independent writers discussing fascinating topics. Eventually, I started collecting these RSS feeds in one place, creating my own “Medium”.

I believe that’s the true purpose of the internet: to be free to decide where to go and what to explore. There is joy in the journey more than the destination.

If you’re curious about the blogs I follow, you can download and import the OPML file into your RSS reader of choice.

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Blog

Consistency isn’t repetition

You are the easiest person to fool

Should we leave behind the joy of curating our own content?