In January, I rolled through the first 1,000-day block of a new life I’m building. It’s a good time to take stock and share ideas.
1,000 days ago, when I started my journey, I wrote an article => 1,000 Day Pacing and New Habit Creation. The article is a two-minute read and contains a simple template:
Create one new habit at a time
Set the bar low (!)
Hit that bar daily (for 30, 100, 500, 1000 days)
Remove what causes me to miss the minimum
Sort the specifics after the habit is on autopilot
Access experienced mentors
Surge effort when conditions are favorable
I wrote the article for you… but two weeks after it published… I applied it to myself.
…and here we are.
Ambitious goals motivate me to do meaningful work and keep my mind away from negative obsessions.
That’s worth applying to your own life.
There is the positive => motivate daily action towards a challenging goal.
And there is the not-negative => giving the mind something to hang on to so it doesn’t get fixated on BS.
Through positive action, we create a lifestyle.
The lifestyle is the win, not the goal.
If we achieve the goal then we’re going to have to find another one. So I’d encourage you to think big. However big you’re thinking… you should think even bigger.
Distant - Belief - Uncertainty - Peers
My big goal is to set world-best times once I’m in the 60+ age group for endurance sport.
Distant => ~1,000 days until I’ll be spitting distance from being able to race in the 60-64 category.
Belief => I deeply believe I can achieve my goal.
Uncertainty => But it’s ambitious enough that I might fail.
Energetic Peers => Working towards to my goal enables me to hang around with my people.
The tension between belief and uncertainty makes for excitement.
The relatively long time horizon takes the pressure off when inevitable short-term setbacks arrive.
What’s your four-year goal?
Are you thinking big enough?
Do you like the person it nudges you to become?
Do you like the peers required to achieve your goal?
The problem of athletic performance is one I find extremely interesting.
What problems do you like to study and solve?
Aging Milestones
My goal is “out there” and will come into range at the end of my next 1,000 day block. It’s going to be fun to look back on this piece. Perhaps you can write a note for your future self to look back on?
A couple dates to consider in your planning. These aren’t fixed but they are quite common in my peer group.
Finance - Sport - Medicine - Law - Beauty
I’ve watched “the goal” consume friends and ruin health, relationships and a wonderful life their younger selves had created. Pay attention for these hazards as age-related changes arrive.
++
Middle age starts in our mid-40s. I noticed a clear shift in my work capacity at 45. My decision to step away from elite competition (in all areas) around the time of my 40th birthday was well made.
It wasn’t just sports where I backed off.
In my early 40s, I thought about returning to traditional employment. I had put the pieces in place to get back into the scene by moving to the Bay Area. In the end, I decided I didn’t want a return to the life that I’d left a decade earlier.
I put my diminished, but still substantial, energy into my family. Specifically, my relationship with my spouse and kids. This was a pivotal choice and has been a source of deep satisfaction (but not immediately, we’re talking 10+ year payoff).
You will underestimate the return from investing time with young children. Birth rate data shows this is a global phenomenon. There is global bias against having children.
Early parenting was not pleasant and it took much more than 1,000 days of effort.
But…
I get along exceptionally well with my kids and it’s a source of deep satisfaction.
Aim for shared experiences and have fun in your best environment.
You don’t need kids to apply this insight.
Old age starts around 60. Just like my 40-year old self didn’t present as middle aged, I won’t present as old a few years from now. But it’s already starting, I can feel myself leaving my middle-aged window. 1,000 days from now, my future self will need to figure out what he intends to do about it.
For now, I’ve re-enlisted for another 1,000 days of working towards my dream.
Another understated post. Most of us are guilty on not thinking big enough. If you need proof, look at the tree you planted in your yard 10 years ago and the growth it has achieved. Now apply that model to other things - what could you have achieved in that time?
Now look at that in terms of your children’s growth and you shudder at how quickly the time has passed!
👏🙏
Look forward to following your journey! The 1,000 day framework is a very helpful tool, thank you for sharing