Have you ever – perhaps in January – come up with some grand plan for self-improvement? Perhaps you promised yourself that you'd jog daily. Maybe you resolved to cook every night instead of eating out. You might even have written down goals, drawn up timetables and charts, and pumped up your willpower as much as possible.
And yet, somewhere along the way, you stopped. Going to the gym five times a week just wasn't working. You ended up impulse shopping. You never managed to get up on time. Whatever it was, you felt like you'd failed.
The problem is, we're prone to all-or-nothing thinking. We set ourselves high standards, and give up completely when we can't meet them.
There's another way. Rather than aiming for some maximum level of perfection, think small instead. Decide on a minimum standard which you'll have no excuses for not achieving.
I first came across this idea from Shauna Reid, also known as Diet Girl. Lamenting her own all-or-nothing thinking, she wrote:2009 Minimum Standards Agreement!
I know 20 minutes doesn't sound like much to you hardcore dames out there, but last year I kept going from one extreme to another. I'd do a 16 miler for my Moonwalk training then do nowt for a week. Even if it's just twenty minutes of Pilates or a quick jaunt around the village, I need to set a minimum.
(Shauna Reid, No Year's Resolutions, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl)
Why a Minimum Standard Agreement Works
You're probably still tempted to come up with grand, perfectionist goals. You're thinking "I won't get the same results if I just shoot for the minimum". But is that really true?
How often have you set grand goals only to give up days later?
How often have you undone your hard work – by having an eating or spending binge after a period of too-harsh restriction?
When you set a Minimum Standard, you feel empowered, because you can easily achieve what you've promised yourself. Even on a really busy day, you can find time to write three sentences in your journal. Isn't it better to do those three sentences daily, rather than aim for three pages and give up after a week?
Plus, when things are going well, your Minimum Standards Agreement doesn't limit you at all. Let's say you've promised yourself that you'll walk for just 15 minutes each day. On a nice day, when you've got some extra time, you might decide to walk for 30 minutes – or even an hour. And the best part is, this will be a bonus achievement – above and beyond the minimum which you said you'd do.
You'll feel great about hitting your targets, which means you'll want to keep going. After all, if you manage to do your 15 minute walk for five weeks in a row, you won't want to skip a day just because it's raining.
Examples of Minimum Standards Agreements
So what does a minimum standards agreement look like? And which areas of your life should you focus on?
You'll want to think about whether to make your targets:
I'd suggest that you pick one to three areas of your life where you're struggling. Perhaps your two priorities are losing weight and saving money. You could set several simple targets like:
Start small: you can always up your commitments if you really feel that this is too easy. Of course, the most effective minimum standards agreements will be the ones which you come up with yourself – but if you're stuck for ideas, you might want to try some of the below ones.
Remember, you can always do more. These are minimums that you're supposed to be able to do without fail – even on bad days!
Health and Fitness ideas
Money ideas
Work ideas
Have you ever used a minimum standards agreement with yourself, in the past? How did it work out? If you've never tried it before, what could you put into practice today?
Written on 6/08/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.
Thinking Small without Guilt: Setting Your Minimum Goal Standards
