Issue#9
Hey all,
last week I finished the book ‘Your Best Year Ever’ by Michael Hyatt. The book provides a systematic approach to identifying and achieving personal and professional goals. Besides telling the reader how to set goals efficiently, the author outlines how to maintain motivation and momentum to keep pushing toward desires.
Starting on a goal can be exciting. The brain releases dopamine and you enjoy the first steps on your journey. But soon enough you will find yourself in the messy middle. You might have made some progress but the road is longer than we assumed. Starting is simple, but progress is tough.
So how to keep pushing when times get tough?
When it comes to keeping up momentum, the idea of celebrating small wins stood out to me.
When we celebrate a win, however small we draw a contrast to our efforts.
Contrasts help to pause, refresh our minds and make us feel alive. They are little highlights that help us maintain a positive attitude towards a goal.
Being self-congratulatory isn’t about ego or hybris, it is about harnessing your reward circuity and tapping your dopamine pipeline. Winning keeps us in the game. Therefore we need to be serious about celebrating when we score.
Celebrating wins validate our work. Skip the celebration and you will cheapen your efforts.
Recognizing and rejoicing in our progress helps us to stay emotionally engaged for the long haul.
So, what is the closest mile marker on your journey? Make sure you cross it dancing.
My last week's highlihgts:
💡Insights:
Predictable daily routines promote physical and psychological wellbeing.
The systems that mediate negative emotions are tied to the circirdian rythms. [1]
Therefore, waking up at a consistent time helps avoid emotional imbalance.
1 From Jordan Perterson: 12 Rules for life: An antitode to chaos ↩︎
Have an awesome week everyone!
All the best,
Florian
