Day 138 - The Hammering Stage

February 23, 2026

Episode Theme:
Why rough, awkward work is often a sign of progress.

Key Topics:

The difference between flow and the work that creates it
Why we admire polish but avoid the hammering stage
Smoothness as the result of friction, not its absence
Craftsmanship through repetition
Writing and work that feel forced before they feel natural
How shaping can feel like damage before it feels like design
Muscle memory and alignment through practice
Quitting too early because it “doesn’t feel right yet”
Staying with discomfort long enough for transformation

Notable Takeaways:

Smoothness is earned, not discovered.
Friction is part of shaping, not a sign of failure.
Awkward work is often necessary work.
Flow comes after repetition, not before.
What feels rough may be forming something better.

Suggested Reflections:

What in your life feels clumsy or forced right now?
Where might you be in the hammering stage?
What would staying with it look like for another week?
Are you mistaking discomfort for misdirection?

Memorable Line (Paraphrase):

“Smoothness isn’t the absence of friction — it’s the result of it.”

Episode Transcript

Guy Reams (00:00.686)
This is day 138, the hammering stage. We admire the smooth. We celebrate the polished. We are drawn to the effortless. But we rarely talk about the hammering. Flow feels natural when you are in it. It feels like momentum, like alignment, like grace from the gods. But smoothness is not the absence of friction. It is the result of it. A river carves smooth stone through relentless pressure.

A craftsman sands wood long before it feels like silk. A speaker rehearses until the words no longer sound rehearsed. The hammering is not glamorous. It is repetitive. It is loud. It is uncomfortable. Sometimes it feels like you are damaging the thing rather than shaping it, but that shaping is the point. We often quit during the hammering phase because it doesn't look like flow yet.

It looks messy. It sounds clumsy. It feels forced. What we do not realize is that smoothness is earned through deliberate impact. Each strike removes what does not belong. The work is not broken. It is being shaped and shaping takes time. I have been there. I have stood in the middle of something that felt rough and wondered if I was doing it wrong. The writing felt forced. The work felt awkward. The progress felt invisible.

I wanted to quit because it did not feel smooth yet, but I stayed with it, I kept hammering, and then one day, almost suddenly, it felt different. The motion connected, the work aligned, the resistance faded, now it was smooth. But smooth was not magic, it was memory, it was muscle, it was the residue of disciplined repetition. Smoothness is not the absence of friction, it is the result of

If something in your life feels rough right now, that does not mean you are off track. It may mean you are in the hammering stage. Stay with it. Shape it. Strike it again. The smoothness you want is on the other side of the work that you are doing now.