How to pick the right goal
A big mistake you can make with setting a goal is to make it too ambitious, even more so if you haven't formed the habit yet. You probably heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Well, that's a wrong "conventional wisdom." Doing a new habit for 21 days is excellent but not sufficient. You need 60 days or more to form a new habit.
The problem with setting an ambitious goal is that you make it too easy to fail. However, if you set a tiny goal and aim for how long you can stick to that goal, you have many more chances of actually making your daily routine into an automatic habit.
If you're not exercising at least three times a week already, you should start with a goal of 15 hearts in a week. And progressively set your goal to increase by five hearts each week. Do that even if you have blown past your goal.
Here is an excellent way to progress:
- Week 1 goal: 15 hearts
- Week 2 goal: 20 hearts
- Week 3 goal: 25 hearts
- Week 4 goal: 30 hearts
- ...
Don't set a goal of more than 55 hearts. You want to have a wiggle room in case something unexpected happens in your week. You don't want a slip up to cause you to lose motivation, and having a goal that you can't achieve anymore can be very demotivating.
If you miss your weekly goal, consider if you should set the next week's goal to five hearts lower.
The most important thing about setting a goal is that it motivates you enough to keep going, but it doesn't become a demotivating factor if you can't achieve it.
If you are already active, start with 30 hearts and progress from there.
Is it OK to increase my goal by just one heart per week? Yes. Is it OK not to set a goal? Yes. Is it OK to set your goal to be one more heart than you achieved the previous week? Yes. You know you. Try setting a goal and ask yourself half-way through the week: Is this helping or hindering my motivation?
Read about how to get motivated →