Habits are the autopilot to your goals, freeing up mental energy for creativity and growth while propelling you towards a fulfilling life. The "good-better-best" scale is a handy framework for approaching habit formation and improvement.
This scale involves setting three levels of action: GOOD, BETTER, and BEST.
GOOD
Good. This is the minimum acceptable action for your habit. It's the baseline you want to achieve consistently. Think of it as "doing the bare minimum" but still making progress.
BETTER
Better. This is a step beyond the "good" level, pushing you to greater consistency or intensity. Aim for "good, plus extra effort."
BEST
Best. This is your ideal scenario, the full potential of your habit in action. It might be challenging to reach consistently, but serves as an aspirational target.
WHY THIS SCALE IS DIFFERENT
Using this scale offers several benefits:
- Flexibility: You can adjust the levels based on your current circumstances and resources.
- Motivation: Reaching the "good" level keeps you on track, while the "better" and "best" levels add a sense of challenge and progress.
- Sustainability: Focusing on small, achievable steps (the "good" level) helps prevent burnout and fosters long-term consistency.
Remember, the "best" level shouldn't become overly burdensome. See it as something to strive for gradually, not a rigid expectation. This good-better-best spectrum is meant to help you celebrate your small wins and pull yourself out of the constant, self-punitive cycle of: trying to "be good" all the time, not achieving the goal one day, feeling defeated if you don't achieve it for two days in a row, never achieving the lofty goal, failing, and then hating yourself for doing so!
LET'S PUT IT IN CONTEXT
I had a client was traveling for seven (7) days for a work conference. She goals whilst traveling were to try to:
- Get to the hotel gym four (4) of the seven (7) days.
- Only eat and drink at one meal out (dinner) with clients / coworkers...otherwise, buy healthy alternative snacks once she got there (i.e.: yogurts, granola, beef sticks, etc.)
I would consider those two goals her "BEST" or "ideal scenarios". From there, we started to look at what "bare minimum" would she be OK with. We called this added padding or wiggle room the "GOOD" level.
We then elevated things a bit, removing a little wiggle room to inch us closer to "BEST" but still not too too lofty for her and called it "BETTER".
Now, important note: this particular client currently works out 6 times per week and eats relatively healthy, balanced meals already! She initially came to me for digestive discomfort and some "weight loss" goals.
With that in mind...EVERYONE'S SCALES WILL BE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT! Hence why I always like to emphasize that I take a bio-individual approach to each client. If you're interesting in building a protocol together, check out the form below!
