When developing a new habit, it can be helpful to set yourself up for success in your strongest moments so that you’re more likely to maintain the habit when you’re not at your best.
If you’re trying to eat less junk food, this might mean going shopping when you’re feeling optimistic and determined (and full) so that you don’t buy the snacks you know you will 100% gorge on in your weaker moments, if you have them at home. This is an example of your stronger self looking out for a future version of you who isn’t feeling quite so mighty.
This same general principle of preparedness can be applied in other situations, too.
When I get a nice email, comment, or review of my work, I’ll often tuck that away in what I call my “I don’t suck” folder so that in the future, when I’m not feeling quite so confident, I can open that folder and rifle through the screenshots of people who don’t think I’m as terrible as I worry I am at that moment.
I think of these sorts of actions—all the little investments I make when I’m in a good place, meant to pay off when I’m not—as gifts from myself, to myself. They only offer small boosts, but that’s usually all that’s necessary to make it through a downswing afternoon or to keep a habit going, despite a moment of weakness.
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