This kind of approach has generally worked for me but I take it a little further. I’ve gone by this adage that “a little bit each day” is better than doing a lot in a single day with a few days off. For instance with exercise (Running) instead of saying no to doing it I say ok maybe half the distance. And as a result it turns into a habit which I think is the single most important tool we have to improve ourselves. It’s kind of taking this situational approach and applying it every day. Another example from my life is soda. I read a lot about the negative effects sugar has on my body and as a result I feel guilty when I buy it, this is another way to motivate myself into a habit of “not buying soda” I started to buy less and now when it isn’t even available my laziness prevents me from leaving the house to go get it :) this is really similar to another comment that said “create systems” where the inevitable outcome is your goal, and I find parallels between this “system” idea and culture in general. Culture is what can drive large groups of people to desirable outcomes. This is as if we apply having a good “culture” within ourselves.
A thing I read a long time ago that really encapsulates this recently came up in my mind again.
If you want to get better, work on your B-game, not your A-game. The goal is not to excel even harder on days that are good. The goal is to move up the baseline performance. This will probably lift up your A-game as well. But more importantly it gives you a base to build on.
It stops me from over-reaching. It stops me from being disappointment most of the time because I don't reach my lofty goal. Instead, it gives meaningful improvement, and many small successes.
