Have you ever experienced the excitement of starting a new healthy habit? Have you ever been so motivated to do something, you hit the ground running hard and fast? But then after a little while you lose steam – you aren’t as motivated, you take days off, or you quit all together? This is the Midpoint Effect.
We’ve likely all experienced this. Whether it be trying to lose weight, gain muscle, eat better, start a business, or learn something new. We start strong, with immense excitement, then the days wear on and we hit a low point.
This is the power of the midpoint along a U-shaped graph of motivation. I found this idea in When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. This book looks into how timing affects productivity, alertness, logical reasoning, motivation, and more. The U-shaped chart is one concept that stood out to me because I believe it can help you achieve your goals.
In a lot of aspects of our life, we can witness the Midpoint Effect. Happiness, well-being, motivation, and many more follow a similar pattern of starting off strong then slowly losing steam until you reach the base of the U.
BUT this is the important part: if you keep going, the graph starts going back up. You find that people’s well-being is high both in their early years and later years, but low in the midlife. People light their menorah at the beginning of the celebration, fail to do so in the middle, then light it again towards the end.
So how does it play into your habits and goals? Knowing about the U makes you aware of the fact that you’ll likely hit a slump. There will come a day when you want to give up because you don’t see results, you feel it’s too hard, you’re not happy, etc. But if you keep going, you’re more likely to hit a peak again.
Losing motivation is inevitable. You won’t always have great days. Your passion project won’t blossom immediately. With any habit or goal you’re working towards, you’re going to be excited in the beginning. You’ll work your ass off for a period of time and feel better than ever, but you’ll reach a point when it falters.
When that time comes, keep going. Revert back to doing the bare minimum each day. Focus more on consistency than massive improvements. Do whatever you need to do in order to keep pushing forward and not give up.
December 7, 2022
