Getting vague really helped me with my effort to cut down on alcohol, which is basically my only persistent unhealthy behavior. I tried a lot of different things, all of which felt too rigid. Finally, I told myself, "at the end of the year, I want to have a healthier relationship with alcohol than I do now." Presto!
Whoa, that's so amazing. I'm glad it worked so well for you! It can be so tricky to strike the right balance between rigid and flexible. Thank you for sharing <3
A few years ago I started using averages for my walking goals. Basically, I try to walk an average of 2 miles per day over the course of a month. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my daily mileage. This allows me to have some days when I walk a lot and some days I don't leave the house 🙃. Similar to your quota idea but slightly different!
(Tbh, most months I don't quite meet the 2 miles per day average goal...but I still feel good about seeing my mileage averages in the spreadsheet. It's really helped me think differently about exercise and get out of the all-or-nothing framework.)
Ooh that’s a cool approach too. I’ve heard people also talk about totals — like, I want to walk 500 miles this year, or I want to drink 20,000 ounces of water this year (lol). I could see something like that really appealing!
Interesting, I would think cadence is better than quota because you get more fresh starts with a cadence. But I can see how a quota could work better for some!
You raise a really good point, which is that all of this can be very individual — I feel like we all respond to these things differently so we kind of have to pick what works for us and leave the rest. 🤷♀️
Great stuff, Anna! Love that you address the “all or nothing” perspective - it can derail so many who have the best intentions but quit when things start to go sideways. Something > Nothing when it comes to sustainable change!!
Getting vague really helped me with my effort to cut down on alcohol, which is basically my only persistent unhealthy behavior. I tried a lot of different things, all of which felt too rigid. Finally, I told myself, "at the end of the year, I want to have a healthier relationship with alcohol than I do now." Presto!
Whoa, that's so amazing. I'm glad it worked so well for you! It can be so tricky to strike the right balance between rigid and flexible. Thank you for sharing <3
A few years ago I started using averages for my walking goals. Basically, I try to walk an average of 2 miles per day over the course of a month. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my daily mileage. This allows me to have some days when I walk a lot and some days I don't leave the house 🙃. Similar to your quota idea but slightly different!
(Tbh, most months I don't quite meet the 2 miles per day average goal...but I still feel good about seeing my mileage averages in the spreadsheet. It's really helped me think differently about exercise and get out of the all-or-nothing framework.)
Ooh that’s a cool approach too. I’ve heard people also talk about totals — like, I want to walk 500 miles this year, or I want to drink 20,000 ounces of water this year (lol). I could see something like that really appealing!
Interesting, I would think cadence is better than quota because you get more fresh starts with a cadence. But I can see how a quota could work better for some!
You raise a really good point, which is that all of this can be very individual — I feel like we all respond to these things differently so we kind of have to pick what works for us and leave the rest. 🤷♀️
Great stuff, Anna! Love that you address the “all or nothing” perspective - it can derail so many who have the best intentions but quit when things start to go sideways. Something > Nothing when it comes to sustainable change!!
I feel like soooo much of this comes down to all-or-nothing thinking, right?? I'm so into reframing! Thank you <3