Prompted: Win the Day
Prompted: Win the Day
Each day is a battle, but progress can insulate us from temptation.
We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we've established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.
- Earl Nightingale
Win the Day
Humans have a strong desire to make progress. It’s an innate urge that stems deeper than our normal tendencies to please others or seek approval. Our craving for progress is an instinct that made sure we were building shelter, foraging for food, creating tools, tending to crops or livestock, and all of the other activities that kept us alive for all these years.
This same craving for progress stays with us today, but unlike a few thousand years ago, if we don’t make progress, we won’t die. We can go our entire life without making progress, and we’ll still be perfectly fine.
When we do something that moves the needle forward in any area of our life, we feel the fleeting release of dopamine that’s evolved to reward us for our actions. Finishing a big project at work, logging a hard workout, getting the laundry done, checking errands off our list, working on a personal project, spending time with a spouse, and plenty of other pursuits all provide this feeling of progress and subsequent dopamine hit.
More often than not, our days aren’t so idealistic. Usually, we wake up with just enough time to get ready for work, put our time in at the office, and make it home to scrounge together some dinner. On an average day, we don’t do anything to satisfy our craving for progress.
This is why we feel compelled to do something for ourselves. Going through a day without progress feels like a waste, so we search for something to patch the hole. We want to make our day worthwhile.
Late in the day, our urge to do something worthwhile is confused with the craving for dopamine.
We feel justified in doing anything that provides a rewarding feeling. At this point, eating candy and watching TV check the same box as exercising and home improvement. Both worthwhile and detrimental activities satisfy our innate craving for progress when we reach the end of the day.
We feel like we deserve a reward or a treat at the end of the day if we haven’t done anything meaningful yet. The later in the day, the harder it is for us to satisfy the craving for progress with worthwhile pursuits, and the easier it becomes to substitute for simple pleasures.
Conversely, when we make progress in a worthwhile pursuit early in the day, the cravings and justification dissolve. After we’ve satisfied our appetite for progress, we’re no longer searching for the dopamine hit.
It only takes one thing to win the day.
When we win the day early, not only do we make consistent progress in our pursuits, but we also feel content which insulates us from the pull of detrimental activities for the rest of the day.
Prompts
Do I ever do things at the end of the day to try and make the day worth it? Or indulge in something I shouldn’t to try and feel in control?
What is something meaningful I do that creates a genuine feeling of progress?
How can I do one thing at the beginning of each day that satisfies my natural craving for progress?
Deep Dive
Why You Never Seem to Have Enough Time - Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine
An excellent read on the psychology of time and how it relates to living a meaningful life.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin
At the end of the day, I ask myself whether or not I am satisfied with what I've accomplished?" If not, I ask what would help - and try to take care of it. Sometimes, just reading one more article, emptying the dishwasher, or taking a short walk makes a difference. Other times, making a note to do it the next day is enough.