TGIM: Microdosing

Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday!

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tl;dr If you aren’t working towards a goal because it is too overwhelming, pick a “micro yes” action that is so simple it is almost laughable. Creating a little momentum towards a big, intimidating goal will get you the traction you need to get the ball rolling.

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Have you ever had the Duncan Hines brownies fresh out of the oven, still in the baking pan? The smell still wafting through the house, you make your way to the kitchen and cut yourself a small piece (obviously the corner because it is the most elite piece). You leave the knife propped up on the side because you don’t want to be wasteful and dirty more silverware. Another 20 minutes go by, and you think to yourself you’ve only had a small piece, so you go back for another small piece, which will create the normal serving size you’re entitled to. After that, you have a sip of milk left from the prior piece, so you go back to carve out just a bite to go with the last sip of milk. And, well, you know how the story ends: a hurting stomach and a full heart.

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Each time you think, “How did I get here?” The answer is one innocent bite at a time.

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You can approach your goals with the same strategy. Taking one seemingly insignificant step towards your goals at a time until you reach your goal.
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On a podcast I listened to last week (recommendation at the bottom), the interviewee referred to this as a “micro-yes.” While this isn’t an earth-shattering concept, I absolutely loved this term.

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The “micro-yes” sounds WAY less intimidating than whatever your to-do list has on it, reminding you of the tremendous project looming over your head. It insinuates that the action is so teeny-tiny it would be ridiculous not to do it.
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How can you break down that big, scary goal into micro-yeses? If your goal is to build a more balanced life and resilient body, you have to change your to-do list from “workout” and “eat well” to something so small you can’t not do it. If you’re starting from a place of not having much of a routine, maybe that looks like having one serving of vegetables and putting your sneakers on to walk out of the house. If you have some established habits, you want to go one minute step above that.
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By creating micro-yeses in your day, you generate the dopamine spikes, which will propel you even a little. A little forward momentum will encourage you to determine your next micro-yes action, and the flywheel is off to the races.
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Micro-yeses also help you clarify an actionable step from more ambiguous, overarching goals. Often we know where we want to go, generally speaking, but we’re not quite sure how to get there. By taking the time to map out your micro-yeses, you will change a murky, goal-oriented picture into a practical step.
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Repeating these micro-yeses over and over again will carry you towards your goal as simply as polishing off a Duncan Hines brownie pan.

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If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM.

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This week, my podcast recommendation is new from Paul Levitin’s Change Made Easy, “The Science of Stuck: How to Change When You Feel Powerless with Britt Frank.”

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With that, enjoy every last minute of July!

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Until next time,

Shannon