This is a continuation of my series of posts on why a diary can be a powerful tool for modifying behavior. Please check out my first post for the full context.

Benefit of Self-Recording 2: Small victories

In the real world, people don't radically change overnight. Most changes occur gradually. By all means, aim high in the long-term. In the short-term, you need to think in terms of incremental improvement. Quantitative records of your behavior will allow you to better articulate what a small step forward would actually look like. If the records say you smoke 20 cigarettes per day, you know that reducing smoking to 19 cigarettes per day is progress. If you exercise 10 minutes a day, you know that 10 minutes and 20 seconds constitutes an improvement.

Keeping records of the specific situations in which your target behavior occurs (or fails to occur) facilitates another kind of incremental improvement. Behavior can be changed one environment at the time. Furthermore, some environments will be more hostile to your desired behavior than others. Try ranking them by difficulty and start with the easier ones. For instance, it may be easier to avoid smoking when socializing with non-smokers than smokers. Or, it may be easier to start exercising on the weekends when you're not exhausted from work.

Every change in amount or specific environment constitutes a small victory. These are a great way of building confidence in your own ability and help you stay on track when the final goal is situated far into the future.

#psychology