I was playing a game with some friends, and one of the questions that came up was, “How many drinks have you had in your lifetime?” It got me thinking. Not just about drinks, but about time and how we spend it. After some quick math, I realized that if you’ve averaged 2 drinks per week over the past 10 years, that adds up to over 1,000 drinks.

But then the real question hit me: what if instead of drinks, we were talking about something more meaningful? Like books, or skills, or even personal growth?

If you read 2 chapters a week, just 2 chapters, that might not seem like much. But over 10 years, that adds up too. With an average book being around 50 chapters long, you’d have finished about 20 books by now. Without even breaking a sweat.

This isn’t about the drinks or the books, though. It’s about how small, consistent actions lead to extraordinary outcomes over time. We tend to underestimate the power of gradual effort. Two chapters, a few minutes of learning a new language, practicing a skill, or even exercising—they all seem insignificant in the moment. But over the years? It’s monumental.

The same goes for learning something new. Want to become fluent in a new language? Want to master a skill? Commit to a small, consistent action every week. Those little choices compound, and before you know it, you’ve transformed. The time will pass anyway, but what we choose to do with it—that’s the difference.

We live in a culture obsessed with the quick fix, the overnight success. But in reality, the best things happen incrementally. Brick by brick, page by page, skill by skill. Ten years from now, do you want to look back and see the results of your steady effort? Or do you want to wonder where all the time went?

A thousand drinks. Or twenty books. The choice, every week, is yours.