I’ve done a couple of “do 100 things” challenges recently. I noticed similar thought patterns arising as I got to various milestones toward the 100 on each challenge. I thought it might just be me but friends have recognised some of these in themselves too:

0-5 are fairly effortless. There’s motivation from the novelty of it. It seems like 100 will be easy.

5-15, I start to see what a slog it might be. It feels like I’ve been going for a while, yet 100 is a long way away.

15-30 is a grind. 100 feels impossible. Easy to fall off the wagon here.

30-70, some kind of resigned acceptance emerges. I get into a bit of a flow. A realisation that the destination isn’t the point, and I can focus solely on the steps of the journey itself. Check. Check. Check. Check.

70-90, I notice a curious and pretty strong reluctance suddenly arise. The end is in sight, there’s a realisation that I could actually reach 100, and with that comes fear and uncertainty: what happens then? Will anything be different about me than when I started? Doing the 100 things has become my comfort zone. Reaching 100 is the shaky ground. Easy to fall off the wagon here, too.

90-99 becomes exciting again. Excitement for reaching 100 overtakes uncertainty around what’ll happen when we get there, and these ones can become pretty fun again. Or can still be a slog. Gotta be careful here.

100 seems like it should be meaningful. Surely this specific one has to be impressive or special in some way? Nope—I remind myself that it needn’t be different than the others. Just another single pixel in the bitmap of your life. Get it done, feel proud, celebrate, then decide what’s next.