Keeping a tab on one’s own self is a task which i have always struggled with. I keep at bettering myself – here is one thing which i use. I hope you  find it useful too.

The self-improvement products & services market I read is growing at the rate of 5% every year from 2020-27. I don’t know how authentic the report is but it confirms the anecdotal data that I have. A lot many of us are all on a continuous journey to become a better version of who we are. 

There is enough to know and do that experts have to suggest but the real result lies in the improvement that one achieves. 

Most books have a common framework of telling us to start doing certain things or stop doing certain things. For e.g. any book on personal effectiveness would advocate giving up “procrastination” But that is easier said than done. We often start with lofty (and faulty) targets of giving up procrastination entirely. The resolve (as we all have experienced) lasts for a short while before we give in sooner or later – then hate our self – and then GIVE UP – ending up exactly where we were before we started or further behind at times

“What’s measured improves” so this article is about a tool that I’ve used to measure and track the progress and it has worked (been effective) for me with reasonable success. This method factors in the scope of failing but in a way that the chances of complete failure keep reducing with time till one is over the hill entirely.

There are three aspects that you can track of any behaviour that you want to give up and the mnemonic for that is FIR

1.         Frequency –  how many times do you exhibit this behaviour in a day / week? 

2.       Intensity –  how defined is the behaviour?

3.        Recovery – how long does it persist before you recover?

Let me explain with an example of “anger” as the behaviour you want to keep a check on.

FIR Tracking would mean tracking:

a)     How frequently do you get angry? Every day, Twice a week …..

b)    How angry do you get? Do you just get triggered, or do you get mildly irritated or do you turn violent (in action or thoughts) ?

c)     How long does it last before you recover ? An hour, half a day, or do you seethe for days together?

Once you track these you are sure to progress up the hill slowly but steadily.

This is the kind of a table you could make in your journal and some time for reflection every night to review progress.