The rise of micro goals, romanticising small wins in a big achievement culture

Within our society nowadays, we have created a culture that only celebrates major
milestones: going viral on social media, getting that big promotion or getting a first in
an essay, social media is constantly showing us the best parts of someone’s life
which can make our ordinary progresses feel insignificant, that if we aren’t doing the
most, we are doing nothing at all.

Micro goals are small manageable tasks, they are steps towards a larger goal.
Things like doing your bed in the morning, writing a paragraph of that essay you’ve
been procrastinating or studying for half an hour. Breaking larger goals into smaller
tasks is how anyone successful got to that point, it’s not a straight path to achieve a
large goal, it’s the accumulation of small consistent habits. Celebrating the small
wins and romanticizing those tasks that you might be dreading is the key to
consistency, once you find joy in the mundane tasks, that’s when you’ find yourself
doing them more frequently.

To romanticize something is when we focus on the positive aspects or act/present
something as better or more meaningful that it actually Is. The key to enjoying life
and those small tasks is just that, when we turn a normal morning into a ‘peaceful
morning routine’ or making studying cozier with music and candles. Essentially the
action is the same but our mindset changes. I’ve applied this concept to the gym, I
used to hate the pressure to look a certain way in the gym and the competitive
feeling environment, however now I just put in my music and just enjoy the fact that I
am showing up for myself and staying consistent, to the point where I look forward
every day to the time when I go to the gym.

Essentially In a culture obsessed with big achievements, learning to value small
victories may be one of the most powerful ways to redefine what success really
means.

• achievements
• advice
• goals
• mental health
• micro goals