I think so much of life is determined by signs of various things. When a sign is negative, you keep regressing unless you apply willpower. When a sign is positive, you keep going forward, even if it’s at a slow pace. So it’s important to try and make the signs of things that are important to do, positive.
(The sign may be indicative of the personality of your shadow.)
There are two ways to get yourself to do something: you make a focused effort, so that you make progress even against a negative sign. Or you can flip the sign, so you naturally, without effort, make a little progress every day.