The Day I Snapped Out of the Loop—and How You Can Too
If you repeat your current typical day for the next 100 days, will you be better or worse?
"If you repeat your current typical day for the next 100 days, will you be better or worse?"
~ Sahil Bloom
I used to wake up every morning because I had to, not because I wanted to.
The alarm would blair, and I’d drag myself out of bed, already dreading the day ahead. I’d shuffle to work, sit through endless meetings, reply to a flood of Slack messages, and scarf down lunch at my desk—usually something uninspired, like a soggy sandwich. More meetings, more Slack, then home. Exhausted. Dinner was whatever I could muster, followed by a few hours of Netflix to numb the tiredness. Then sleep. Rinse and repeat.
Friday was my beacon of hope—a fleeting escape.
But the weekend would vanish in a blur, and before I knew it, Monday loomed again. The cycle restarted.
I was stuck in what I now call The Loop. Maybe you know it too: that grinding routine where days bleed into weeks, and you start to wonder, Is this it?
But then, something shifted. I started imagining a different story—a life I’d always dreamed of but never dared to chase. Let me paint it for you.
The Dream That Changed Everything
Here’s how it started for me: I stopped. Just for a moment.
I grabbed a notebook and tried to recall everything I’d done in the last seven days. It was harder than I expected. I remembered the big stuff—work deadlines, a grocery run—but the details? A haze. So I jotted down what I could. Try it yourself right now. Grab a pen and list it out:
If you can fill that out completely, hats off to you—you’re already ahead.
But here’s the real question: What do you see? For me, it was a pattern. A loop of sameness. Meetings, meals, mindless scrolling.
That’s when it hit me: I was living on autopilot. And in that moment of realization, I snapped.
You just did too, didn’t you? By reading this, by reflecting, you’ve noticed the loop. That’s the first crack in its foundation. You’re still in it—for now—but you don’t have to stay there. You’re about to break free.
Hacking the Loop, One Swing at a Time
There’s an old saying I love:
“For every thousand hacking at the branches of evil, there is one striking at the root.”
~ Henry David Thoreau.
You don’t need a thousand swings to break the loop. One is enough to start. Every time you chip away at it, you take a step closer to your dream. And trust me, if you keep hacking, that dream will come.
I learned this the hard way. For years, I flailed at the branches—tweaking small habits, complaining about my schedule—but the root stayed intact. Then I got serious. I started asking bigger questions. And that’s where the real work began.
The Funeral That Woke Me Up
Let me take you on a little time-travel experiment that changed everything for me.
Imagine it’s 30 years from now. You’re driving to a funeral, someone you’ve known your whole life. You walk into the parlor, approach the casket, and freeze.
It’s you in there.
It’s your funeral.
Your partner, your family, your friends, your colleagues—they’re all there, ready to speak about you.
What do you want them to say?
How do you want to be remembered as a partner, a parent, a friend?
What mark do you want to leave on the world?
I sat with that question for hours, scribbling furiously. I wanted them to say I’d lived with purpose, that I’d loved fiercely, that I’d built something lasting.
Those became my 30-year goals—the End I wanted to reach.
Now, rewind 29 years—one year from today. What would need to happen in the next 12 months to get you closer to that End?
For me, it was things like deepening my relationships, starting a project I’d always postponed, and cutting out distractions that drained me. Write yours down. Use a table if it helps—pick the roles that matter most to you:
Role (e.g., Partner): Goal for 1 year
Role (e.g., Friend): Goal for 1 year
Role (e.g., Self): Goal for 1 year
Can’t see the 30-year End yet? That’s okay. Start with the 1-year vision instead.
The point is this: You can’t hack the loop if you don’t know your dream.
Define it, and you can design it—one day, one swing at a time.
The Daily Hack: Where the Magic Happens
Here’s the secret I stumbled on: Not all tasks are equal. Some keep you trapped; others set you free. I started sorting mine into four buckets—something I picked up from a wise framework:
Q1: Urgent and Important – Do these now. Crises, deadlines. They’re unavoidable, but they shrink if you focus elsewhere.
Q2: Important, Not Urgent – This is the goldmine. Planning, learning, building. These are the dream-makers.
Q3: Urgent, Not Important – Interruptions, busywork. Dodge these when you can.
Q4: Not Urgent, Not Important – Time-wasters. Scroll less, live more.
Breaking the loop means hacking at it daily with Q2 tasks—the ones tied to your 1-year goals.
For me, it was writing for 30 minutes each morning instead of checking my phone. Small? Sure. But those minutes stacked up. They turned into this article you’re reading now.
What’s your Q2 hack? Pick one thing—something important, not urgent—and do it tomorrow. Then the next day. Watch what happens.
The Life You’ve Always Wanted
I’m not perfect at this. Some days, the loop still creeps in. But I’m not the same person who stumbled through life half-asleep.
I’ve tasted the dream—days where I wake up eager, work with purpose, and rest with peace. You can too. It starts with that snap you just felt. It grows with every hack you take.
So here’s my challenge to you:
Don’t let this be another article you read and forget. Grab that pen again. Define your dream. Pick one Q2 task. Start tomorrow. Because 100 days from now, you won’t just be better—you’ll be on your way to the life you’ve always wanted. I’ve seen it happen for me. Now it’s your turn.
Until next time,
Thilina
Be Inspired, Do Inspire!