If your not practicing your not progressing
The process of the micro-goal.
As you’ve probably guessed from reading my most recent onslaught of posts
I’ve picked up the old habit of writing every day.
The purpose of this is not to produce anything perfect, but quite simply to get back into a groove.
A distinction that matters because, like so many others I can be incredibly hard on myself when it comes to anything I pursue.
I suspect this comes from having a particularly strong superego, an inner voice that is constantly evaluating, correcting and demanding more. (which happens with thinky/analytic types)
And If I’m not careful, the same voice can siphon the enjoyment out of almost anything I do.
I’ve spent a lot of time in performance-based environments, amateur football, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and various different forms of self-development. (that I won’t get into)
And while these domains taught me discipline, resilience and the value of pursuing ambitious goals
They also taught me to somewhat associate my progress with an outcome…
Did I win?
Did I improve?
Did I perform well enough?
Am I where I should be by now?
And this made me realise that goals are extremely powerful, because they give all of us direction and can motivate us to demand more from life.
But when we become too attached to the outcome and the goals, we can then become outcome-dependent.
Instead of enjoying the process of what we do, we end up constantly measuring ourselves against an imagined future version of who we think we should be.
Which can reduce the presence and awareness required to perform well in the first place
And paradoxically, becoming overly fixated on results makes it harder to achieve them anyway.
Because outcomes are only downstream of the effort and process we place into them.
This is where micro-goals become so valuable. (at least for me)
A micro-goal is a deliberately small action that is almost impossible to fail at.
It may seem laughable compared with the final objective or the end product you often see on social media.
But that is precisely the point, its supposed to get you started without triggering any unnecessary resistance or self-judgment.
Want to become a world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Start with one competition class per week.
Want to become stronger? Do half a pull-up or one pull up per day. (depending on your strength)
Want to improve your health? Walk for ten minutes after dinner. (postprandial glucose walk)
Want to write consistently? Write one paragraph. (works for me)
The goal is obviously not to remain at this level forever, but to use the goa to create enough consistency for momentum, confidence and capacity to develop naturally. (and build a habit)
Micro-goals are magic doors because they lower our psychological cost of starting, and they transform progress from something that requires heroic effort into something you can repeat EVEN on the most imperfect day.
And repetition is where change happens (especially neuroplasticity)
This also applies particularly well to health, Ive met so many people who approach their health with an all-or-nothing mentality
Completely change their diet, train six days per week, optimise every supplement, sleep perfectly and never miss a session.
And that approach may be motivating for a short period and for some people
But it is often difficult to sustain. A better starting point for a beginner might be.
Drink one additional glass of water.
Eat one serving of protein with breakfast.
Take a ten-minute walk.
Go to bed fifteen minutes earlier.
Complete one rep of an excercise.
Prepare one healthy meal.
These actions may not appear significant in isolation, but they create evidence that you are the kind of person who follows through. (identity shift).
Over time, the micro-goal can expand into more, one pull-up becomes three, ten minutes of walking becomes thirty, one paragraph ends up becoming a page.
The important thing for you is that the habit is built well before you increase the demand.
And dont try to think that the ambitious goals still matter because they do provide you with a destination
But micro-goals help you determine whether you keep moving when motivation disappears and when becomes life becomes chaotic or your inner critic starts telling you that the small progress is not good enough.
I hope you enjoyed reading and you start today with a small micro-goal to bring you closer to your ideal reality.
Thanks Oran/Biohacker.