Saint-Exupéry isn't describing motivation or willpower here—he's describing the strange arithmetic of human progress, where repetition *becomes* the point rather than the means to it. The "same step" suggests that salvation lies not in discovering new techniques or waiting for inspiration, but in the stubborn acceptance that Tuesday's effort looks identical to Monday's, and that's precisely what makes it bearable. A person recovering from addiction, rebuilding after failure, or learning a craft discovers this truth: the monotony isn't a problem to solve but the solution itself, because it strips away the crushing weight of expecting transformation to feel dramatic.