I encourage everyone to lower their achievement bar all the way down to âminimize harmâ. There is no rational reason to beat yourself up for not reaching some arbitrary goalpost, even if it is one that you set for yourself and was arguably achievable. Life happens, and new circumstances and data can easily shift things.
For example, if you were hit by a bus and in the ICU recovering, no one would expect you to be productive. Why is it any different for milder versions? Have the flu or a cold? Didnât sleep well last night? Completely exhausted and burnt out?
âShouldâ is the most insidious word we use. âI should be able to achieve more or give more or be betterâ. Love and accept yourself where you are. Then, if you want to make step towards improvement, do so. But keep them small and donât compare against others or hypotheticals. The only comparison that matters is against yourself.
Iâm a big fan of âcounting upâ, where you start at zero and get points for doing good things, instead of starting at perfect and losing points for imperfection.
I encourage everyone to lower their achievement bar all the way down to âminimize harmâ. There is no rational reason to beat yourself up for not reaching some arbitrary goalpost, even if it is one that you set for yourself and was arguably achievable. Life happens, and new circumstances and data can easily shift things.
For example, if you were hit by a bus and in the ICU recovering, no one would expect you to be productive. Why is it any different for milder versions? Have the flu or a cold? Didnât sleep well last night? Completely exhausted and burnt out?
âShouldâ is the most insidious word we use. âI should be able to achieve more or give more or be betterâ. Love and accept yourself where you are. Then, if you want to make step towards improvement, do so. But keep them small and donât compare against others or hypotheticals. The only comparison that matters is against yourself.
Iâm a big fan of âcounting upâ, where you start at zero and get points for doing good things, instead of starting at perfect and losing points for imperfection.
This works best in the sense of âstretch goalsâ and âscrunch goalsâ.
For a lot of EAs, your stretch goals are audacious and world-changing, and I support this! I wouldnât want to lower that achievement bar.
But audacious plans are risky. Health problems and personal limitations occur. A scrunch goal might be âminimise harm and be kind.â