How to Take Action Again

I’ve recently realized that I often felt behind in life because I was approaching my goals with unrealistic expectations.

I was treating each goal in my life as as an obstacle I must overcome, one by one, thinking that I had to finish one in order to move on to the next. Let’s call this the all-or-nothing mindset. We’ll define it as putting all your eggs into one basket and tunnel-visioning on a goal until it’s done.

The problem with this approach is the simple fact that sometimes life happens, and you can’t always progress toward your goals as quickly as you planned. And when this inevitbly happens, it creates a negative feedback loop.

The Negative Feedback Loop:

The Mindset Shift: Progressive Thinking

This year, I decided that I was going go about tackling my goals differently. I decided that if I completed a daily actionable item (called wins) that has gotten me closer to my goal, then that should be considered a win. Some days these wins would be smaller, and other days they’d be more ambitious, but as long as they were completed, I was making progress. I was still winning in life.

This impacted my life in a few ways:

1. I can make progress toward multiple goals at the same time, since I can complete multiple actionable items for different goals.
2. My output and effort naturally increased because this mindset emphasizes consistency.
3. I feel great because I know I’m making progress in life.

If you want to try this approach, here are some rules I follow:

1. You must attempt to complete your daily wins (actionable items)
2. Because of this, I limit myself to only 3 wins a day.
3. If a win isn’t completed, it gets reassessed or becomes a win for the next day.

By following these rules, I keep myself accountable in my pursuit of progress while still allowing myself the grace to live life as a human.