The Glory is in the Gutter

Forget Big Leaps. Aim for 5% Shifts.

Transformation is such a sexy word for a pretty unsexy process.

We’re dazzled by before-and-after images of transformed bodies and hero stories of overnight successes. We even have our own real life examples of someone we know radically transforming “overnight.”

These before-and-afters remind me of comic strips, like this one:

Across the frames, you get the story highlights. But the space between images is called the gutter.

Transformation isn’t like the toaster. Pop in a slice of bread, wait a few seconds, and toast pops up. Who knows where the bread went? Who cares. I’m toast, baby.

This is not reality, and it rarely happens that way. And by seeking only the 100% shifts, you cheat yourself of transformation. You keep looking for more information (another diet, another book, more lessons, a different program) to fill the gap between you and who you want to be.

Our culture, obsessed with the magic of before-and-after stories and the heroic journeys, focuses on the frames and leaves out the gutter. This perpetuates your frustration and leaves you looking for the next big leap.

But the real magic is in the gutter.

The gutters are the days where you’re at the gym and when you woke up you didn’t want to go.

The gutter is making the choice to eat something healthy when you just want fries and a burger.

The gutter is the feeling of normal life after the excitement of your new job and the transition wears off. Showing up and still working towards your dream.

It’s rewriting the draft of your book 20 times, starting over, and forcing yourself to write 200 shitty words just to keep momentum going.

The gutter is where the transformation occurs.

But no one talks about that. We save it all up for the big reveal. Our egos LOVE the frame.

What if we celebrated the gutter instead of the frames? What if we lived for the process of transformation instead of the result?

Because here’s the truth. You’re not going anywhere. You just are. You’re here. And reaching a goal doesn’t actually get you “further ahead,” make you happier, or put you somewhere else. You’re still just you, here. There’s only here, there’s only now. There is no further ahead. Please pause for a moment and take that in.

It’s fucking liberating.

I read this the other day and want to share it with you. This is what it’s like to focus only on the frame and ignore the gutter:

“Compulsive goal setting is like playing a game of fetch with yourself — you throw the bones as far as you can (set the biggest goals you can imagine), and then chase after them with hyper-focused attention and continual action. The problem comes when your happiness and self-worth are the bones.

For most compulsive goal setters, their sense of well-being comes from how well they think they’re doing. And since they’re constantly raising the bar on what ‘success’ and ‘making it’ mean, they’re never doing well enough to feel happy and worthwhile. There’s always more action to be taken and more targets to be reached, so there’s never a sense of being content right where they are now. And, I speculate, if they let themselves, they’d keep chasing those goals right up to the point where they collapsed of physical exhaustion.

- Supercoach, Michale Neil

I’ve never had someone describe me so well (I generally think dog analogies are the best way to describe me, anyway).

And I see this all the time with my clients. It’s pervasive in weight loss, coaching, entrepreneurship, and in high achievers everywhere.

And it’s as destructive as it is pervasive.

Ditch the frames. Forget massive transformation. Focus on 5% shifts.

How can I get 5% more consistent with exercise this week?
How can I eat 5% better?
How can I push myself 5% further with this book?
How can I commit to my passion project 5% more?
Where can I be 5% bolder?

5% over and over is massive transformation. But it doesn’t feel like it when you’re doing it.

I call this “slow adrenaline.” It’s not as sexy as the overnight overhaul, but it certainly works a hell of a lot better.

Glory to the gutter.