Here’s the secret to actually achieving ambitious goals
Like most people, I’d set big goals each year to try and motivate myself to do better. I’ve been seriously powerlifting / weight training for almost a decade now, and each year, I’d set challenging targets in the gym that would push me to keep up with my routine. It worked well for me, and it didn’t matter if I missed these targets; as long as there was progress, I’d still be proud of myself.
But weirdly, I struggled to transfer this mentality to some parts of my life. What was it that was making me go to the gym so consistently? Why was I setting big targets that didn’t really matter to me?
Around winter last year, I read a book summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear. Rather than setting big goals, he explained how it’s more important to build very small habits. This creates a system of habits that adds up to produce a real and significant change in our lives.
That’s when I realised that I had already built a habit system for working out. Going to the gym required very minimal effort as a result. And regardless of what my goals were, I was actually just focused on making progress. It was the journey of progression that mattered more to me than achieving the final goal.
