Streak

I am not deep into the rabbit hole of social media, but even I can’t help but notice the reassuring trend happening across media platforms, app developers, and even some news outlets. All of them are promoting the power of streaks—daily workouts, daily meditation, daily walks. Here are my 30 days of not drinking caffeine, 20 days of doing pushups every time I want to yawn, 10 years of shaving my mustache with an axe… You lose a day—you lose the streak and start from the beginning. Consistency is the key.

I am sure you know this trend; realistically, most of you are even secretly following it, while being obsessed with what I call a “Day One Syndrome”—starting from scratch, throwing my old notebooks away so I can start this perfect life in my new Moleskine.

It’s a good strategy in hindsight. At the end of the day, if you save $10 every day, you would be much better off at the end of the year. So, although I have nothing against the consistency trend per se, I can’t help but get more and more irritated by the obsession with perfection. Perfection as a defining factor of success.

And to understand how ridiculous it is, you need to scale it up. It’s easier to decide to start from scratch when you are working on a novel or launching your profile on social media as an aspiring photographer. But let’s assume that the following happens to you (as it actually happened to me the other day)—I scratched a wheel on my car going 5 km/h in a parking lot.

Now, following the trends on social media, the perfectionist mindset might compel you to overhaul the entire side of the vehicle to restore its pristine condition. This exaggerated response mirrors how many approach personal goals—believing that a single slip necessitates starting over or, worse, abandoning the endeavor altogether.

Psychological research actually sheds light on this phenomenon. The "all-or-nothing" mentality, often fueled by streak-based incentives, can lead to increased anxiety and decreased motivation. Individuals fixated on perfection are more susceptible to stress and burnout. This relentless drive for a perfect record often overlooks the natural flow of human behavior. Renowned psychologist and author Carol Dweck's research on the growth mindset emphasizes the importance of embracing challenges and learning from setbacks rather than fearing them.

It's essential to recognize that perfection is an illusion. Life's richness lies in its imperfections and the lessons they teach us. By allowing ourselves to lose the streaks, we cultivate resilience and a deeper understanding of our personal journeys. And to finish with a great quote from Brené Brown: "Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight." After all, it's the scratches and dents that often tell the most compelling stories.

P.S. I know it’s just a freaking wheel, but I felt actual physical pain from that scratch. Damn!