Keeping The Streak

Something that is deeply motivating for people, myself included, is the idea of keeping a streak. It urges us to take action when we don’t feel like it, compels us to build our days around specific core activities, and brings out a level of consistency that few other tactics manage to do.

We all know this to be true, but the real question is… Why?

As you’d expect, the answer resides in human psychology. 

First, the reason our minds respond well to gamification is because of our hardwiring for immediate gratification. As James Clear explains brilliantly in “Atomic Habits”, the final step of the Habit Loop is to get a reward. Essentially, experiencing a reward indicates that whatever action you took successfully satisfied the need of the craving you had. This craving is an unmet need that was prompted by some cue in your environment.

Here's the things - We have a constant need for self-actualization, to become all that we can be and maximize our potential. So much so in fact that it’s at the top of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs and something that is impossible to fully satisfy. Our 'impossible to meet' need for self-actualization operates as an underlying force that is always pulling us to want to achieve and improve. Maslow himself says “If you deliberately plan on being less than you’re capable of being, I warn you, you’ll be unhappy the rest of your life.”

Gamification offers a solution to that. When we earn points, level up, or keep streaks, it helps us perceive progress toward our insatiable need to self-actualize.

The second explanation for a streak’s impact on us is rooted in our identity. When we take consistent action on something to the extent that we build a compelling streak, we reshape our belief system. Aristotle says “We are what we repeatedly do”, suggesting that consistent action literally has the power to redefine our self-image. Unconsciously we do things that are in alignment with our identity and resist doing anything else. So keeping a streak becomes a function of you following through on what your mind expects of you and not an effortful demand to your day.

Because the mind prefers familiarity, you literally talk yourself into keeping your streak (even if you’re tired or it’s inconvenient). To tie it back into the Habit Loop, the idea of not maintaining your streak (cue) creates a need to stay in alignment with your identity (craving). The uneasiness motivates you to take action (behavior) so that your streak is kept intact (reward). 

In understanding the psychology at play, now you’re better prepared to leverage streaks to support you in doing the things that make you feel and perform at your best!