A Matter of Perspective

As I promised last week, here are some ways that you can set goals that you can actually stick to.

We all know that lasting change happens when the goals we set are designed to work with our brains instead of against them.

So let’s get started (we only have 51 weeks left of 2026 and don’t want to waste any time!).

1. Shrink the goal down to a daily action item that will shift our identity.

So let’s say you want to lose 30 pounds. Start saying (and then doing what you say) “I am becoming someone who walks 10 minutes every morning.”

This is an identity based goal and it tells our subconscious that we are “becoming” this new person and the behavior—at least in theory—will follow.

2. Make the first win embarrassingly easy.

Our new habits will stick with us if they are small, repeatable and emotionally rewarding. (There are those emotions again, but we can use them in our favor in this case.)

Small actions build trust with our brains. This trust then creates consistency which in turn creates change.

When we see the changes (on the scale, or in our bank accounts or wherever) our brains reward us with more trust.

3. Attach the habit to an existing routine.

We all have habits—good or bad—so if we add something to that habit like taking a walking after our morning coffee, we are stacking and stacking habits is known to create real change. You don’t have to do any extra thinking because you are already doing the one habit, you are just adding another to it.

For me, I began walking in place while I read. I am not only doing something good for my body, but also for my mind. It wasn’t easy to add the reading to the walking, but I was determined and now it is so easy to do!

4. Track your progress visually.

The Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was said to have set a goal of writing one joke each day. Each time he wrote a joke, he would put an “X” on his calendar. His goal became to not break the chain of X’s on his calendar. So every day he had the satisfaction of writing a joke and putting the visual cue on his calendar. I don’t know how long he kept up this habit, he might still be doing it, but the fact that he had a visual reminder of his goal and of meeting that daily goal, the more invested he became (“don’t break the chain!”).

5. Reinforce the new identity daily.

Instead of saying, “I’m trying to...” say, “I’m becoming someone who...”

It has been documented that our words/thoughts will train our subconscious faster than our actions will. When we mix the two... we can become unstoppable!

The truth that most people never seem to learn is that we don’t actually fail our resolutions, we fail the design of our desired change.

Remember, change sticks when our identity is updated, the habits are tiny, the progress is visible (an “X” on the calendar) and that we replace motivation (that does not last) with a system that will really transform us.