Focus on right now, not the distant future, to stay motivated and on track to your long-term health goals

• You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle and are determined that this time is going to be different.
• Your refrigerator is stocked with fruits and veggies, you’ve tossed out processed foods, and your workout routine is written in pen in your daily planner.
• Thinking about these long-term consequences, the argument goes, should help you avoid indulging right now and better stick to your goals.

To resist temptation, think short term

• We tested this approach in seven studies with over 4,000 participants.
• In one study, we invited university students to view one of two public service announcements detailing reasons to avoid energy drinks.

• Those who read about the short-term costs were 25% less likely to choose the energy drink than those who read about the long-term costs.
• For fast food, think about how it can make you feel bloated or give you indigestion.
• The takeaway is simple: To avoid indulging, think short term.

Focus on the fun of healthy options

• On the flip side, can you nudge yourself toward consuming more healthy foods?
• These findings were independently replicated in an intervention at five university dining halls that used food labels focused on either tastiness or healthfulness.

• In one study, Kaitlin asked gymgoers to choose a weightlifting workout from a list of similarly difficult routines.
• The participants who were instructed to select a fun exercise completed more reps than those told to pick an exercise most useful for their long-term fitness goals.

Timing the reward sweet spot

• One strategy for persistence is to use rewards to stay committed.
• It seems rewards are most effective when people have to work to unlock them, after which they become regular.

• They ended up persisting longer and completing more workouts than people in a lump-sum group who received a larger, occasional reward for every four workouts they finished.
• People in the work-to-unlock-rewards group – three days of flossing without rewards followed by daily rewards – flossed for more days than those who received continual rewards right way.

Resistance, enjoyment and persistence

• Our research highlights three effective strategies to help you achieve your goals: prioritizing short-term consequences to resist temptation, finding enjoyment in long-term choices, and continually rewarding yourself for sustained persistence.
• What’s great about these strategies is that you can adapt them to any personal goal you hold.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.