What are Feedback loops & Why are they important for healthy lifestyle ?
Feedback loop is a cycle where we do a task & then we get the feedback for the process, later we get a chance to see the result then we correct the process & keep improving in the long run.This is how we learn things in our daily life & keep improving our learning curve.
When it comes to the Feedback loop, we have 2 types, Short feedback loop & the long feedback loop.
Short Feedback loop
Here the feedback time after we do the process is short, thus we tend to get immediate feedback to correct the process.
Eg: If we throw a ball into a basket which is close to us, if we miss the throw its clearly evident.Also the process involves less steps & feedback time is short, so the correction is easy & we tend to easily master the process.Thus anyone can throw a ball into a basket, which is close by. Here the factors which decide the ball falling into the basket are less, so easy to understand the process & do it.
Long feedback loop
Here the feedback time is long, so we tend to get a delayed feedback to correct the process.
Eg: If we throw a ball into a basket which is very far from us, thereare high chances we might miss the target.
Why ?
As the distance is more, the probability of the event to happen is less.Moreover the feedback is delayed as multiple factors are involved like wind factor, size of ball, size of basket, force of the throw, angle of throw, stability of basket when the ball hits the walls of basket etc.
How is it related to healthy lifestyle ?
We being healthy is a long term maintainence process.Here the feedback loop is long with multiple factors involved in the process like food we eat, Sleep quality, Physical exercise we do, Quality of relationships, Financial stability etc.
We tend to gain 0.5- 1kg weight per year, which is very slow & not obvious.In 10 years we might gain 10 kg & in 20 years it might be 20 kg.
Thus because of long feedback loops to maintain healthy lifestyle, it tends to get complicated to maintain Physical, Mental, Emotional & Financial health in long run.As each aspect influences the other & impacts our health.
How to use this Long feedback loop to have a healthy lifestyle ?
The only solution for this is to have right habits for Physical, Mental, Emotional & Financial health.Now to keep tracking them on monthly & quarterly basis, getting a feedback & adjusting them.
In particular we have to work on basic life processes like Breathing, Eating, Sleeping for long term results.
As there are multiple factors in the process, we start with the keystone habits in the beginning in a gentle way & keep adding based on the consistency.
As per many researches just by tracking habits, we tend to reach our goals faster & also maintain them with ease.
SOURCES :
1.Atomic habits – James clear
2.The power of habit – Charles Duhigg