How to interrupt the 'never enough' cycle

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You hit a milestone. Feel satisfied for about 3.7 seconds. Then immediately start planning the next one.

Sound familiar?

The 'more loop' is gratitude's biggest enemy. It hijacks every achievement before you can appreciate it. Your brain treats satisfaction like a dangerous pause that needs immediate correction.

But here's what changes everything. Gratitude practice creates neural pause points.

These aren't forced appreciation breaks. They're trained moments where you can actually register what you've accomplished before your scarcity brain resets to what's missing.

The executive who can appreciate a successful project completion before diving into the next crisis. The entrepreneur who can sit with a win for more than a few seconds. The high performer who builds on achievements rather than just collecting them.

This week, we're exploring how gratitude breaks the more loop and why completion through appreciation is the foundation of sustainable success.

TL;DR

The more loop hijacks satisfaction by preventing appreciation. Gratitude creates neural pause points that let you register accomplishments before moving to the next goal.

Using Gratitude to Break the Pattern

The Appreciation Gap

Your scarcity brain has a clever trick. It makes achievement satisfaction disappear faster than you can register it.

You get the promotion and then for a brief moment, there's relief, maybe even joy, then immediately, 'Now I need to prove I deserve it.'

The milestone becomes a starting line. The achievement becomes evidence of how much further you still need to go.

This isn't ambition. It's the more loop stealing satisfaction before gratitude can process it.

Gratitude practice extends that satisfaction window, not through forced positivity, but through trained attention to what actually worked. The skills you used, the support you received and the progress you made.

When you practice appreciation for what got you here, the achievement becomes a foundation rather than just a checkpoint.

Gratitude as Pause Points

Breaking the more loop requires learning to pause between achievement and agenda.

Most high performers skip this entirely.

Goal achieved → next goal set → cycle repeats.

There's no space for appreciation, completion, or integration.

Gratitude practice creates that space, not as procrastination or complacency, but as conscious completion.

This is where appreciation becomes practical rather than fluffy. You're not trying to feel grateful for everything. You're using gratitude to complete what you've accomplished before starting what's next.

The pause point isn't about stopping progress. It's about building on solid ground rather than constantly running toward the horizon.

Satisfaction as Gratitude Skill

Here's what most people miss. Satisfaction is a learnable skill, not a personality trait.

Your scarcity brain treats satisfaction like a threat. If you feel content, you might stop striving. If you appreciate what you have, you might lose your edge.

But the opposite is true.

People who can feel genuine satisfaction with their achievements have more sustainable energy for what's next. They build from abundance rather than inadequacy.

Gratitude practice teaches your brain that appreciation doesn't kill ambition, and it fuels better ambition.

You can feel satisfied with what you've accomplished and still want to grow. You can appreciate where you are and still have vision for where you're going.

The difference is whether you're growing from contentment or growing from anxiety.

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Inside the Author's Mind - Gav's Notes

I have had a real hard time trying to live up to what I have written here. The systems I have built to keep me productive have no room for stopping and appreciation.

Practise what you preach, Gav!

Running multiple businesses, it always feels like I have the next thing to do. The task list grows and grows and... yes, it grows again.

What I have learnt, though, is that lack of appreciation keeps the creative well empty. Taking a step back and looking at what I have created gives me time to pause, rest, appreciate and be thankful.

The well starts to fill, and instead of begrudgingly looking at my next writing project, I feel a sense of excitement.

Gav

Gratitude Gem

Here's to growing from appreciation rather than inadequacy.

Gavin

Unbound Gratitude

Daily Prompts and Affirmations

Would you like to start your day with calm and clarity?

Each day, we send a short email to help you begin with intention: one gratitude prompt, one affirmation, and one mindful challenge.

If you’d like to receive these daily prompts and affirmations, click the button below and select ‘Yes’.

We’ll take care of the rest.

Optional Companion

If you want something beside you while this shift continues, the Morning Gratitude Reset Kit is now open.

It’s not a journal.
It’s a structure.

A way to support the kind of person you already are.

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