Why you don’t need to be 1% better every day (and why that idea might be holding you back)

I see this offered a lot by motivational coaches – just aim to be ‘1% better every day’.

Sounds like a great mantra. It’s catchy, quantifiable and mathematically seductive. Compound those tiny daily improvements and you’ll be unrecognisable in a year, right?

But here’s the thing. Real human transformation - the kind that’s sustainable, embodied and meaningful - doesn’t follow a linear or mathematical trajectory. And from a neuroscience perspective, this mindset might actually be sabotaging your nervous system and long-term growth.

I’m going to break down what’s flawed about this popular advice.

The Brain and Body Doesn’t Work in Percentages

Your brain isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s a dynamic, nonlinear organ shaped by states. Expecting yourself to be incrementally ‘better’ every day assumes:

• You’re starting from a regulated baseline every time

• Your nervous system can tolerate constant upward pressure

But none of that is true.

The brain’s capacity to learn, grow and perform is highly dependent on state - particularly the state of your nervous system. If you’re stressed, depleted, dysregulated or anxious, your brain isn’t wired to improve. It’s wired to survive.

So what happens when you wake up on day 37 of your ‘1% better’ journey and feel flat, foggy or overwhelmed?

You feel like a failure.

Not because you are one,  but because the metric is incompatible with how real human performance works.

The Hidden Cost of Constant Progress

When the nervous system perceives pressure to always be progressing, even if it’s just ‘a little bit’, it can trigger a threat response. That’s when we shift into fight, flight, freeze. And this looks like:

• Increased cortisol which means impaired learning, memory and executive function

• Decreased prefrontal cortex activity which means poor decision-making, logic, compassion, goal achievement

• Heightened limbic state which means more emotional dysregulation

This isn’t growth. This is your system trying to keep up with an unsustainable state.

Growth Happens in Waves, Not Straight Lines

True development - whether personal, professional or relational happens in cycles. You regulate, you stretch, you recover. Sometimes you plateau. Sometimes you even go backwards. All of this learning rewires your brain.

And your brain thrives with rest and integration, not just effort.

Change happens during the down times just as much as during the active ones

Trying to be ‘better’ every day forgets that consolidation and contraction are just as vital as expansion. Rest days, messy days, nothing-to-show-for-it days,  they’re not slippage. They’re important too!

What to Aim for Instead

Swap “1% better every day” for something more brain-aligned:

• Being more regulated: How safe and steady does my system feel today?

• 1 meaningful shift a week: What’s one insight, habit or boundary I’m exploring?

• Being aware: How much am I learning to work with myself, not against myself?

Because the truth is, growth doesn’t come from pressuring yourself to perform, it comes from creating the conditions where your brain can do what it was designed to do: adapt, rewire and evolve.

You’re not a robot. You don’t need to be 1% better every day. You need to be human - regulated, resourced and resilient.

That’s where real transformation begins. And that’s what I help people to do.

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 Jo Britton, BA(Hons), MBA, Certified Performance Coach (Distinction), CEO Whisperer, Certified Neurosculpting® Facilitator, DiSC practitioner, Trainer, Speaker.

Director PACE Development.

Jo works with ambitious high achievers in demanding roles who need to excel under pressure, make high-stakes/quick decisions, problem-solve in ambiguous situations and resiliently overcome challenges without burning out. Her clients are typically from the C-suite, leadership, teams and professionals in various industries sectors. They benefit from her coaching approach that integrates applied neuroscience with Neurosculpting®. Through this, Jo helps her clients to harness brain plasticity to unscript unhelpful mental, emotional and physical patterns so that they overcome self-imposed limitations and release stress. And at the same time, helps her clients to script empowering patterns which support high performance, resilience, focus, calm, motivation and energy. Her work has been featured in the national, regional and trade press and she’s held regular slots on BBC radio and regional TV, sharing these brain-based tools. Jo has held senior leadership positions in industry including in marketing, sales, learning and development and consultancy.