Introducing Trackers!

Gert

Well-Known Member
#1
Hi everyone,

I want to share with you today a method proven pretty successful in helping people stick with good habits! But first:

You know Adrien from Youtube, the yoga instructor? She has this thing called '30 Days of Yoga', where you can follow along with her and do yoga for 30 days straight. Very popular. There are infinite examples of challenges like this. There's also fitness programs, Start to Run, diets, daily goals, lifecoaches overseeing your every move, and so forth. Now, what do all these things tend to have in common? They encourage you to do something that's good for you through a strict set of restrictions. You eat then and then, these amounts, every day. In Adrien's case, it's particularly encouraged to keep doing it daily as you feel like you are a part of something, important in these lonely times.

Now, in these restrictions lies the problem. Just like standardized school programs and testing, they fail to take into account the differences between people and what they are capable of. And that's not the only problem either: even in personalized diets and fitness programs there's rigidity, a schedule that you're supposed to keep. It's actively encouraged, 'stick with it and you'll notice the difference'. There's no doubt it works for some people, but it also very much does not for others. People 'fall off the wagon', miss appointments, have a stressful day and overeat. Their leg hurts and they can't do yoga, forever missing out on the full 30 Days Feeling (TM). Whenever you're supposed to do something and you can't do it (for any reason), there's mental repercussions. You feel bad, and feeling bad often leads to more diverging from the schedule, a vicious cycle. Your self esteem drops, and progress eventually halts, sometimes reverses. It's a motivational problem, where the preset goal becomes unattainable and you attached value to getting it.

If this sounds at all familiar to you, there's hope! Introducing... Trackers!

What? Well, first you decide on a healthy habit, something that would be an improvement in your life if you could keep doing it. It could be yoga, healthy eating, exercise, you name it. As long as it's good for you. Then you create the Tracker, something artsy/crafty that's fun to look at (could be anything) and has some way to keep score, a method of counting. Then, whenever you do the healthy thing, you add one point to the Tracker. It does not matter how long or how good you did the healthy thing, the only thing that the Tracker cares about is the initial threshold you have to cross to start doing the thing.

You see, the common misconception is that somehow if you manage to do something thirty times in a row, the thirtieth time means more than the first. It absolutely does not! Every single time you do something healthy has equal value. This is the core concept of the tracker. Every single time is worth the same, one point. It doesn't matter whether you quit for three months, all that matters is that you eventually again cross that threshold. The value of the healthy habit is in you sticking with it not in a preset timeframe, but at your own pace. We're thinking long-term.

Trackers are very flexible. They don't care if you hurt your leg, if you're exhausted after work, if you have cramps. They simply wait until you're ready to cross the threshold, and then they award you a point for doing that. Put them somewhere visible, as a reminder of the healthy habit you want to create. But always go at your own pace, because you want to, not because you have to. You want to be healthy, you want to be better. If you do it at your own pace, you will succeed.

Here's some pictures for inspiration:


Self-Defense Tracker

photo_2021-04-03_02-31-13.jpg

Bicycling Tracker

photo_2021-04-03_02-31-25.jpg

Walking Tracker

photo_2021-04-03_02-32-09.jpg

Gardening Tracker


photo_2021-04-03_02-32-15.jpg

Yoga Tracker

photo_2021-04-03_02-32-24.jpg
 

Gert

Well-Known Member
#3
I'm sorry to hear that. I actually can't do yoga either, my body just doesn't bend that way. It's good for many others though.
 

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