Dallas Bragg argues that massive goals backfire, but small wins create momentum. He cut one espresso shot a day to prove he could change, then stacked micro-goals until his habits and personality shifted. Incremental success beats dramatic transformation.
Number three, set achievable goals. I love to set big goals. I love to make dramatic declarations. I'll make videos about them. I love the dopamine fix from all of it. But then I realized that I've created a pattern for myself: big goals overwhelm failure, self-loathing. Big goals overwhelm failure, self-loathing. The small victories create jack. Vibrations. And if you can win, no matter how substantial, you've altered the cycle. You've interrupted the pattern. I started out with this goal: tomorrow, only a single afternoon espresso. One day, one less shot of espresso. One simple goal. One day, one less shot. Now I can build from there once I win that one. I had to prove to myself that I could make one decision differently. And with that knowledge installed, I set another small goal and another small goal, and soon my entire personality is altered. I am now the
