Goal setting and group flow

Its early season in the Northern Hemisphere and big goals will get all the attention — landing the trick, passing the exam, standing on the podium.

I think it’s important to write down these bigger goals — the ones that give all those smaller steps direction.
Getting them out of your head and onto paper makes them real.
It’s something I’ve always done — even this process of writing and talking ideas through helps me see them more clearly.
It’s like having a conversation with your own goals before you start working toward them.
But the real work happens in the micro goals — the smaller, focused steps that shape those moments.

Neuroscience backs that up.
Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about how our brains actually need small, specific wins to stay motivated and adapt.
On snow, that might look like giving your brain something specific to chase — a movement, a feeling, a repeatable cue.
Maybe it’s finding pressure earlier in your turn, staying centred through the exit of a turn, or landing a feature/trick clean three times in a row. “2 to make it true!”
The clearer the target, the stronger the signal your brain gets that it’s worth adapting to.

Each of those micro goals pulls focus into the moment — and that’s what drives real change.

The Power of Micro Goals

Big goals can feel overwhelming. They’re distant, full of unknowns.
But micro goals make them doable — they bring the outcome into today.

They also build momentum.
When you hit a small goal, your brain gets a dopamine reward. That little spark of motivation doesn’t just feel good — it actually primes your nervous system to keep going.
It’s progress you can feel in your riding.

Micro goals also help redirect frustration.
When you fall short on the bigger picture, you can always look back at the micro wins you stacked along the way.
That’s what keeps long-term motivation alive.

Finding Flow With Others

Goal setting doesn’t have to be a solo act.
Some of the best progression I’ve seen comes from group flow — when a crew sessions together, shares goals, and feeds off each other’s energy.

Try this next time you ride with friends or your team:
Split the session time evenly between riders. Each person gets to choose a feature or line, explain their goal for it, and set the vibe for how to ride it.
Everyone else joins in, building off that idea or adding their own version.

Maybe one rider’s goal is clean takeoffs with stability; another focuses on line choice; another plays with knee and ankle flexion and style.
Each person’s focus adds something new to the mix — and before long, everyone’s riding changes.

It’s a simple way to turn a hike session, park lap or groomer cruise into something more than repetition.
It becomes a creative loop — each person’s goal sparking the next person’s idea.

That’s what group flow is all about.
When everyone’s chasing their own micro goals in the same shared space, progress accelerates — and it’s a lot more fun.

The Takeaway

Set your big goals — but don’t live there.
Build micro goals that you can act on today.
Celebrate the little wins, share the process, and let the energy of others pull you forward.

Sometimes progression doesn’t come from grinding harder — it comes from sharing the process with people who are doing the same.

“Progress isn’t built from the big wins — it’s built from the moments you decide to stay focused a little longer.”

— Cam