The Direction One Takes
Our Rabbis taught: “One Mitzvah -good deed- leads to another Mitzvah, and one sin leads to another sin”. A person should not be agitated over a transgression that he has committed unintentionally, however, he should be agitated that now an opening has been made for him to sin, unintentionally and even intentionally. And a person should not rejoice over a Mitzvah that he has at hand, but he should rejoice for the many opportunities for Mitzvot that he will subsequently encounter. (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra #6)
We often focus on the particular actions that take place throughout a day. We compartmentalize our achievements and failures in neat little bundles. We draw checks in the “to do box” when we do something positive, we wince and give ourselves a mental tap on the hand when we mess up.
This is why the opening chapter of Psalms highlights the significance of the direction one takes as opposed to the specific acts: “For God recognizes the way of the righteous, while the way of the wicked is doomed”.