The question many of us ask ourselves is how do some people manage to stay motivated as they pursue their goals? Well, the answer is summed up in Goldilocks Rule. As Author James Clear mentioned in section 19 of Atomic Habits, Goldilocks Rule states that “humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.” This means the should not be too hard nor too easy. In this article we are going to to explore Goldilocks Rule in detail and see how we can apply it into our lives to boost results.
Table Of Content
Why do some people stay motivated for longer than others?
As we discussed in the introduction, Goldilocks Rule talks about doing activities that are just at the edge of our difficulty to keep us motivated. In the Atomic Habits, Author James Clear explains using an example of Comedian Steve Martin. This man took almost 15 years to break through in the comedy industry. But all this time he made sure that even though he was challenged to an extent of performing to an empty bar, he was always motivated enough to show up the next time. This came about in the way he used to make his routine. He used to gradually increase the length of his skits. In high school, his skits were a minute or 2 long. A few years later, he did 5 minutes skits and at 19, he would perform for about 20 minutes.
Lesson from Martins story
We all know how hard it is to practice comedy because this involves exciting strangers. Martin always moved with the fear; that’s how life is. The secret is in the habits he designed and how he was able to stick with them in the long run. The greatest lesson in his journey is how he managed to always do tasks of manageable difficulty. He implemented this through different strategies like gradually increasing the length of his comedy skits by 1-2 minutes each year. He never made them too short to get bored. About the content in his comedy skits, he added simple new material gradually and reused the jokes that were assured to get him laughs. These two victories kept him motivated on his comedy career development. He never over stretched his potential; instead gradually grew into it.
How can we apply this rule in our everyday lives?
Many of us struggle to keep going in life at work but this comes about from the ways we design our habits. As we discussed the Four Laws of behavior change: how to create good habits and break bad ones; the behaviors that are necessary to breed the habit we desire to achieve are must be easy. This helps us to keep going even when the conditions may seem to be difficult.
The other thing is even when we want to make improvements, the steps should be small. The progress associated with them should be good enough to keep us going and engaged without causing panic or anxiety; hence Goldilocks rule.
Case Study
Lets say your goal is to learn how to build a website. In first instance, this whole thing can be overwhelming when you want to do it all at once. When broken down in simpler steps that can keep you engaged and motivated to keep learning, you can achieve this.
Stages for learning. 1. Learning about websites in general. 2. Domains and hosting. 3. Website management systems; and all other stages involved. This behaviour helps you celebrate milestones while keeping you focused on the bigger picture. This behavior keeps you moving even when situation seem difficult.
Conclusion
If you have come this far, I know you are ready to apply this rule into your own life. Personal development requires delicate balance; be it career, education athletics, army or any other field that you would want to grow in. Make sure to challenge yourself with tasks that keep you engaged and motivated while also bringing about enough progress. How do you think you can apply this rule in your life or work? Share with us in the comment section below.
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