Whether you took the children’s fiction story “Goldilocks And The Three Bears” by Robert Southey seriously or not the first time you heard it as a child, the principle described in it has been scientifically proven to provide psychological benefits when applied correctly. 

The principle has been given several different surnames, but regardless of what you call it, The Goldilocks Rule holds the same idea. It has been applied in several different fields, from psychology to astronomy to economics, but the application most directly beneficial to the average person is the psychological. 

The Goldilocks Rule is the concept that humans are most motivated to pursue a task when they are challenged by it just to the cusp of their ability to complete that task well. Though it might seem unproductive or too slow a moving process that lacks the necessary challenge to promote improvement, the rule’s slow progression might be the key to its success. 

The Rule has gained some recent attention with the publication of famous comedian and performer, Steve Martin’s, autobiography Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life. In it, he describes his journey to success by measuring his progress based on the Goldilocks Rule. 

As he grew up and pursued his career, Martin only performed in front of a certain amount of people he felt comfortable acting in front of and held his shows only so long to ensure that he could entertain them. 

Over time, the crowds got larger and his shows got longer the more he practiced his skills as a comedian and was ready for the next challenge. 

How could this rule apply to Barstownians, you might be wondering? In the light of AP exams and finals happening in the upcoming weeks, there is the return of the usual student struggle to manage studying, completing all their coursework as the year rounds out, and participating in everything they do outside of school. All the work Barstow’s faculty members are doing to prepare for the end of the school year hasn’t gone unnoticed either. 

The Goldilocks Rule could prove a viable solution to this universal struggle. However, the only problem is ensuring those students and faculty members know it exists. 

When asked, only one of the interviewees for this article was vaguely aware of the Goldilocks Rule at the time of their interview. That individual is none other than Upper School English teacher and Grade 11 Coordinator Mr. Scott Guldin. 

“I just watched [Steve Martin’s] documentary and read [his autobiography]. It’s a fascinating and interesting study in the idea that you can have a second act in American life. I think it runs contrary to a lot of things we believe about how careers work in our country,” he says. 

In regards to the actual Goldilocks Rule Martin discusses in his book, Mr. Guldin has found that he believes in its validity. 

“I find that idea to be true on a regular basis. I avoid the things that I dread or that challenge me the most as an English teacher, one of which is grading papers, and I find it’s always the thing that I do last. I also find that when I develop any kind of momentum, it usually is enough to push me forward. It’s really a matter of just getting started,” he explains. 

Ms. Lindsay Zimmerman, another Upper School English teacher, also tends to find that there is truth to the Goldilocks Rule. 

“I think the concept makes a lot of sense, strikes the balance between something too easy, which will make us bored, and something that’s too hard which is frustrating and ego destroying. We get to feel like we are accomplishing something and are competent, and people love to feel competent and successful.”

In fact, she even draws connections between it and American author Daniel Pink’s idea of Flow. 

“I think it’s an interesting contrast to his idea of Flow. He describes Flow as something similar, not too easy, but not too hard. His work is especially focused on things people love to do and to be in the flow state where you forget the world and time flies and you’re totally focused. It’s interesting to notice the overlap and how similar they are. It probably indicates that there’s something true to that theory,” she explains. 

Mrs. Amanda Marvin, an upper school Spanish teacher and Co-Senior Class Coordinator agrees with Mr. Guldin and Ms. Zimmerman and compares the peak motivation described in the Goldilocks Rule to those of a more physical variety. 

“It seems to be true based on what I know from other readers and speakers. We grow when we’re slightly uncomfortable. It kind of makes me think about growing pains. There’s some discomfort, but not too much,” Marvin says. 

If you find yourself experiencing these mental blockades, fear not! Even the best of us experience these struggles, regardless of how much one might love or hate the subject matter. 

“Even the best teachers and students sometimes bump up against motivation struggles in a high school environment that is highly rigorous, very busy, and where you are still in the stage of your education where you’re learning all the things instead of just focusing on what you’re most interested in. That means sometimes you have to do the hard stuff and endure those moments to get a broad education,” says Zimmerman.  

Mr. Guldin agrees with this sentiment, especially with his experience teaching both middle and high school students at Barstow. 

“As their teacher, you don’t want to burn out the students. You have to be cognizant of the full picture; other work, extracurriculars, the time of year, and it’s that kind of layering that makes it more difficult at the high school level than middle school. For a long time, in middle school, we had an explicit directive to work with our colleagues to make sure that tests don’t always fall on the same day, but in high school, it’s nearly impossible to have that level of communication and cooperation,” he explains. 

Students like to forget sometimes that teachers have gone through similar experiences themselves in order to become teachers. Mr. Guldin wants to make sure to establish a mutual understanding of the stress experienced by students with such full plates and remind students that the pathways of communication are always open. 

“I feel that pressure having been a student myself, and it’s really hard. It feels like everything is coming to you at once. I think, at that point, it’s a matter of keeping open lines of communication to empower students to have conversations with teachers that they are really busy for x, y, and z; can we talk about a different due date or extensions? Teachers don’t have to say yes, but those communications are really important.” 

Students definitely feel the pressure of such a rigorous academic profile, and reflect on how the changes in rigor have changed their motivation levels, too. The Goldilocks Rule might not work for everyone, and a multitude of factors can make it complicated for one to find success when following such a principle.

“I think a lot of it has to do with society and how its expectations change over time. When we were five, the expectation was for us to do what we wanted. We didn’t have to worry about a 9-5 or assigned reading or anything. Now, we’re expected to do pages of homework and read pages of books that aren’t necessarily tailored to our interests. Since it’s not personalized, I think that has a part in the widespread loss of interest many have in doing things which coincides with lost motivation,” says Haddie Schedler ‘25. 

She also agrees with Ms. Zimmerman and Mr. Guldin’s opinion about the degree to which extracurricular and non-academic pressures can damage one’s motivation for school. 

“I also think compounding factors of the weight of societal, personal, social, and familial pressures lead to an overwhelm and burnout feeling that inhibits either interest or motivation, depending on what you believe, which then leads to the loss of motivation/interest as we get older.” 

In addition to these external factors, the pandemic stunted many individuals’ ability to find motivation. Moving up through high school with those consequences has made those transitions much more challenging. 

The rule’s subjectivity presents several challenges when we introduce it into society, too. 

“I think it’s too subjective to make any material difference and seems to rely on an ideal world that we don’t have access to. What’s challenging or nearly so depends entirely on the person undertaking the task and nothing in modern society either in the workplace or the person in school is ever tailored to the personal abilities or feelings of the people who are undertaking the tasks assigned to them,” explains Schedler. While the Goldilocks Rule may seem to offer the change-all-be-all for students, it may not be a feasible option.

She continues, saying “Something might be too challenging for my friend and right on the cusp of challenging for me, so according to that rule maybe I find more motivation to do it which is fine but my friend still has to do it.” 

Finally, she concludes on the usefulness of the theoretical rule, explaining “There will never be a scenario where the Goldilocks strategy is feasible in any consistent manner. Further, I think it relies on a non-existent notion of motivation. Even if something is the perfect amount of challenging, if it doesn’t interest me, I’m still not going to want to do it.”

These ideas of personal interest and experience within a given area can also affect the timeliness and amount of success the Goldilocks Rule can bring.

“I think it depends on what your original skills were and your goals are. If my goal is going to be an Olympic athlete or the next Einstein, a moderate amount of work isn’t going to get me there, but I think most things are achievable with a moderate amount of work. In one of my classes I have way too much homework, but if I didn’t have that much, I think I’d honestly learn more,” adds Loch Beagle ‘25.

With that being said, the Goldilocks Rule is not the only thing that can help struggling students and teachers get through the last couple of weeks of the year. Here are some more helpful strategies and pieces of advice to help you regain some motivation to finish the year strong. 

The first bit of advice about finding motivation is from Mrs. Marvin. 

“It’s easier to find motivation when you’re already active, so try to take an active role in class. If you just sit there and wait for motivation, it will never strike. Be an active listener, question-asker, and note-taker. When you are active, it will help your motivation rise,” she says. 

Similarly, surrounding yourself with people who are active in class might help create some healthy competition that you can use to trick yourself into doing those hard things. 

“You should surround yourself with people that you admire and that challenge you in all the best ways, and that you think are really smart because when you do that you’ll find motivation that you didn’t have otherwise just from yourself. I do think there is a kind of healthy competition/cooperation that you can get from peers if you approach it in a healthy way.” explains Guldin. 

 Before you sigh in exasperation, I know we’ve all heard that we need to sleep more before. But maybe it’s time to take that seriously. As hypocritical as it is for me to say so, Mr. Guldin does have a point. 

“Get the best sleep that you can because that affects so many other things; health, mindset, creativity, and your ability to problem solve. We do live in a kind of poisonous society that exalts a mindset that you have to be doing and creating all the time, but I think that’s a lie and a really harmful mindset to have,” he adds. 

Though it’s important to strive for good grades, remember that your worth is not reflected by the numbers and percentages on your transcript. 

“Looking at my own experience as a student in retrospect, remember to give yourself grace.  I think we all want to achieve the best and to perform to our highest capability, but sometimes when you have so many things happening at once, it’s not possible to do your best in all subjects at all times. That’s okay. I just remember seeing like a B+ in a class and reeling and becoming heartbroken and dejected, but as significant as they feel, grades do not define us.” reminds Guldin. 

In addition to being gentle with yourself and taking plenty of breaks, remember that your teachers are there to help you through this process and are there to see you succeed. 

“Utilize the teachers and their knowledge as well as their willingness to help in any way they can and believe in yourself. Find what works for you or try a variety of strategies to try and spark a little more interest in studying the hard things,” advises Schedler.   

Ms. Zimmerman offers a few helpful strategies for trying to accomplish those hard things.

“Identify the times of the day when you have the most energy and put the tasks you feel least motivated to do in those time slots. Save the easy and fun ones for the end of the day or when you’re exhausted. Start with the hard thing, and put it down when you run out of steam.”

When working on these assignments, remember that it’s okay to take it slow and switch gears if it’s too hard. 

“When you are doing a task that you’re struggling to get motivated for, set a fairly short timer and push really hard. If you achieve flow, keep going, but if you find that you’re hate-staring and accomplishing nothing, stop. You’re burning psychological energy without accomplishing anything. Stop and switch gears if you hit a wall rather than wade through the quicksand of accomplishing nothing but still using energy,” she says. 

Even if you might feel guilty about it, manipulating yourself into completing little pieces of the whole task is perfectly acceptable. 

“I think it’s good to remember the adage about the elephant; how do we eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break the big thing down into small tasks. Reward yourself and celebrate each step. That could mean, for an essay, ‘I’m going to write the next sentence and that is worthy of reward,’ and that’s okay.” 

Additionally, she reminds us that our environment can greatly affect our productivity. 

“Be mindful of the space you’re in, have a space that’s optimized for your motivation and study prefs, a quiet room, outdoor, coffee shop, have a contained space that is your get stuff done space so that you turn on the motivated mindset like a switch.”

Lastly, remember to hang in there. No matter how unfortunate, the only way out of this year is through.