The Goldilocks Rule & Why the Ship 30 Model Will Work For Me

The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

Concept Credit: James Clear, Atomic Habits, adapted from the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

I’m new at writing online and I’ll be the first to admit it. Joining the Ship 30 for 30 Challenge scratches an itch I’ve had for a couple of years now, which is simply to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were) and join the conversation.

I’ve sat with a full drafts folder of partially-composed ideas and a desire to publish my thoughts for two years, yet I’ve only pulled the trigger and clicked “publish” a few times. I couldn’t come up with a “goal” for why I wanted to publish, so instead, I opted not to.

What this challenge does is set the goalpost within reach. The fear of not knowing what to say is dispelled by tearing down the walls of judgment and celebrating the accomplishment of simply participating. 30 short essays in 30 days, with clear guidelines on how to get there.

All of a sudden, it’s not so daunting anymore. This challenge provides the entry point I have been looking for and will get me one step closer to where I want to be.

It is, as The Goldilocks Rule implies, right on the edge of my current abilities.

It’s just right.

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