Get started on that goal!
Recently, a good friend of mine convinced me to sign up for , a website that aims to turn the self-motivation needed to improve one鈥檚 health into a fun game (you can see ). It works quite simply: you set certain goals for yourself throughout the month 鈥� 鈥淚 will floss every day鈥� or 鈥淚 will drink eight glasses of water a day鈥� or 鈥淚 will walk at least three miles four times a week鈥� 鈥� and are rewarded with points and other in-game bonuses.
It鈥檚 all just a 鈥渇un鈥� veneer over a great concept: setting small micro-goals for yourself and achieving them. Each day that I participate, I have a small set of micro-goals to achieve.
In the game, the 鈥渞eward鈥� for achieving those micro-goals is points, fruit, and other game-related goodies. In the end, though, the real motivation and reward for achieving those micro-goals comes from inside the player 鈥� in this case, me. Unless I personally want to achieve these micro-goals, I won鈥檛 be achieving them.
So what鈥檚 the point of the 鈥済ame鈥� in the first place? To put it simply, it鈥檚 a self-motivation aid and record keeper. It harkens back to for self motivation that I wrote about a few years ago:
He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.
He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. 鈥淎fter a few days you鈥檒l have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You鈥檒l like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 break the chain.鈥� He said again for emphasis.
As I stated later in the post:
Basically, once you start accomplishing a task every day, if you create an obvious visual reminder of that continued success, you鈥檙e going to want to keep going. Seinfeld applied this philosophy to writing comedic pieces, but you can directly apply it to anything in your life, from weight loss to reading to, well, personal finance!
HealthMonth, in the end, is simply an embodiment of this idea. Once you鈥檙e playing that game and earning rewards, you鈥檙e going to want to keep going.
The basic purpose of all of this is simply to establish a new routine in your life. If you successfully achieve a microgoal enough times in a row, it simply becomes a natural part of your life routine. If the chain is long enough, the chain becomes normal and your day feels awkward without it. I鈥檝e certainly reached that point with my daily writing 鈥� if I don鈥檛 do it for a day, I miss it.
Of course, you really can achieve this same basic 鈥渃hain鈥� or 鈥淗ealthMonth鈥� idea at home, no matter what your goal is. Just identify a single microgoal that you want to achieve every day for the next month. Is it walking two miles? Is it eating four pieces of fresh fruit? Maybe it鈥檚 something directly money related, like spending fifteen minutes on a one-time project (like air-sealing your home) that increases your home鈥檚 energy efficiency.
Whatever it is, I challenge you to do it each day during the month of October.
It鈥檚 easy to track your progress, too. Just . Hang it somewhere where you鈥檒l see it multiple times each day. At the top of it, write your daily goal in big letters.
On the first, make an effort to achieve that micro-goal, then put a big fat X over the calendar square representing the first of the month. Repeat it on the second, and then on the third. You鈥檒l have yourself a string of Xs 鈥� and a sense of accomplishing something. You won鈥檛 want to break that string of Xs, so you鈥檒l keep doing it. See if you can fill up the whole month. Maybe you鈥檒l print out a November calendar, too, and keep going with it.
Every month can be the month where you start changing a behavior. Just print out a calendar, start crossing off the dates, and soon you鈥檒l have established a powerful, positive new routine in your life.
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