The L in IDEAL Goals

You didn’t lack willpower. You lacked the right tool.

Habit change tools from Keith A. Herman, creator of IDEAL Goals.

IDEAL Goals change behaviors. Each letter stands for part of the framework, and the L stands for Leveraged. This page is the menu of tools to choose from when you face a challenge that keeps coming back.

• IIdentity-BasedDefine your future ideal self and how you want to feel when you become that version of you.
• DData-DrivenUse expert guidance to choose measurable habits you are at least 70% confident you can do, and track them.
• EEnvironment-FocusedRedesign your environment to make your desired habits easy and your unwanted habits hard.
• AAction-ReadyDecide where and when you will do your habits.
• LLeveraged You are hereDecide what additional habit change tools you will use.

Much of the IDEAL Goals framework is built into the free IDEAL Goals Habit Tracker. If you do not have it yet, start there.

Get the free habit tracker

Before adding a new tool, let’s see if you are using the ones built into the IDEAL Goals Habit Tracker

The tracker has tools built into it, and it works best when you use all of them. Check each statement that is true for you.

• I use the tracker each week.
• I wrote who I am becoming at the top of my tracker.
• Each habit on my tracker is measurable, such as 2 pieces of fruit.
• I am at least 70% confident I can complete all of the habits on my tracker.
• I write where and when I will do each habit, and I follow through.
• I fill in the Environment section for each habit.
• I make the changes I wrote in the Environment section.
• I keep my tracker where I will see it.
• I check off each habit right after I do it.That small celebration matters. The good feeling sends dopamine to your brain, which signals that the behavior is important.
• I do the Weekly Review at the bottom of the tracker.
• I use last week’s results to build next week’s tracker.

If you left one unchecked, start there. That is your next tool.

The tools you can add

“Better to have a tool and not need it than to need it and not have it.”

1. Rewrite your goals regularly
2. Practice self-talk
3. Do mental imagery
4. Share your plan with someone working on similar habits
5. Create a plan for handling obstacles you foresee
6. Create a plan for how you will react to and analyze setbacks
7. Emulate others who embody your ideal future self
8. Read books, watch movies, buy clothes, and attend meetings related to your ideal future self
9. View everything as a game or an experiment
10. Commit to mastery
11. Plan all your weekly meals and meal prep time ahead of time
12. Plan for cravings
13. Read food labels before buying
14. Plan your meal before going to a restaurant
15. Hire a coach
16. Accept that a new habit takes motivation, attention, and concentration for about 60 to 90 days before it becomes easy and automatic
17. Be grateful for who you will become before it happens

If a tool doesn’t work for you, the tool isn’t broken and neither are you. It was the wrong tool for the job. Pick another one and keep going.