Leigh Fox

Doesn’t the title of this post sounds so counter-intuitive?  I’ve written before, and will espouse again, that specificity is crucial for goal-realization, however I cannot deny the wisdom in this snippet from Mark Sisson’s free eBook “Primal Blueprint Intro”:

“De-emphasize specific, results-oriented goals because of their potential to discourage – a la weight loss failure or “post marathon blues”.  Stay motivated by focusing on fun and release attachment to outcome.  Consistency = over-stress.  Vary routine to minimize stress and improve adaptive response by genes.  Missed workouts drive recovery, improvement and freshness.”

It’s so TRUE! For many people, success can feel like swinging from one vine of accomplishment to the next… you get the “high” of a “win” or success, but it never lasts long and soon you have the post-accomplishment blues as you search for the next race to run or promotion to score or widget to buy.

I must confess –  I have had problems with consistently doing anything my entire life.  From getting my oil changed every 3k miles to washing my face every night, it just doesn’t happen with any sort of predictability.  One week my house will be a mess and the next it’ll look like a shot out of Southern Living.  I can set alarms and write to-do lists, but it is against my nature to execute things “perfectly”-  Which is a big part of why I’m so fascinated with systems of personal organization, motivation, and how to strategize for life-success (aka- this site!).

I have viewed disorganization as succumbing to entropy – the idea that things devolve from an organized state to chaos, from high to low, from warm to cold. People who ingrain habits and are able to stick religiously to intervals of action & behavior have seemed like warriors to me- they can resist chaos and take their loosey-goosey existence, refined it, chop it, and bake it into a neat little cake of accomplishment.  However, despite my frustration with falling short of “perfect” at any given time- I’ve also always had an undercurrent of feeling that the non-specific habits I can’t seem to shake have been part of the secret to a lot of my happiness and accomplishments.

What Sisson is tapping into in his quote above is that de-emphasizing outcomes results in a different kind of success- not the success that you cross off of a to-do list, but a kind of “success chi” or “success flow”.

By not being attached to outcomes and instead focusing on fun & variety in life, relationships, exercise, food- anything!- you can remain in the success zone in a nice steady way, instead of suffering the manic highs and lows of a completely goal-regimented lifestyle.

I believe there is PLENTY of room in life for both – and that an optimal state of happiness probably looks something like this: a life that embraces fun and variety, with specific goals/mini-projects sprinkled within for good measure.

Moderation in all things.  Check out Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.  

 (Post image credit/source here)

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