It feels timely to be writing this today. Just yesterday, I slipped on a habit I’ve been trying to kick. I’d had a solid 9–10 day run (which I was genuinely proud of), and then… not my finest moment. A friend of mine, who is on a weight loss journey, recently had a similar week. A week of setbacks, some frustration, and then getting back on the plan. And that’s the thing: on the way to any real progress, setbacks are inevitable.
What matters is how we respond when they show up.
The old me would’ve spiraled after yesterday’s “slip up”, convinced I’d ruined everything and questioning why I even try in the first place. But over time (with a lot of coaching and inner pep talks), I’ve learned to see these moments not as failures, but as feedback loops.
Feedback loops: how systems self-correct
In systems theory, a feedback loop is how change happens. You act, observe the result, and adjust. Too hot? The thermostat kicks in. Not enough engagement on a design feature? Test, iterate, improve.
Behavior change works the same way.
Except we as humans tend to interpret feedback emotionally. We don’t just say “that didn’t work” — we say “I didn’t work. I am a failure.” But if we borrow the systems mindset, we can treat our behavior less like a test of willpower and more like a series of experiments.
Curiosity over catastrophizing
When we stop treating slip-ups like identity crises (“See? I always do this,""I knew I’d mess it up”) and take a curious approach to reflect on them, there is a wealth of information we can learn from them.
As I learned to take a less destructive and perfectionistic approach to sticking to plans, I learned to ask:
What led up to that moment?
Is this part of a pattern?
What could I adjust for the future?
The goal isn’t to be perfect (which can be quite difficult sometimes 😅). The goal is to become a better observer of our own patterns so that we can make small, kind course corrections. Because change unfortunately doesn’t happen by brute force or perfect planning. It happens when we create slightly better conditions than last time.
Tracking progress still matters
One… because we humans like to see when we’re doing well. Celebrating small wins gives our brain a hit of accomplishment and reinforces the behavior. (Side note: I come from the “no pain, no gain” school of thought, so celebrating small wins felt borderline pompous at first. But once I started, it got weirdly easier and actually useful.)
Two… because it helps us reflect. A lot of us associate tracking with guilt. We tend to be discouraged when we “break our streak” or we mark the “missed workout” with a big red cross to make sure we remember our failures.
But lightweight tracking can be one of the simplest forms of reflection. It’s a way to notice what’s actually happening, not what we hope is happening.
What it can tell us is things like:
This was a stressful week and I tended to overeat in the evenings.
Felt low-energy today and skipped a workout. What leads to preventing energy dips for me?
When I eat consistent meals, I tend to not mindlessly snack.
It is about self awareness and looking at trends rather than perfection. Celebrating a 70% week is far more helpful than punishing ourselves for missing one day.
What we’re building
At SwitchUp, we’re building something to support exactly this kind of self-awareness: a tool that surfaces insights, supports micro-adjustments, and helps make reflection part of the habit.
If this resonated, we’d love to hear from you. What goals are you trying to reach? What’s helped you recalibrate after a setback? Just leave a comment here or get on a call.