So I have a goal to brush and floss. It’s named “brushflossteeth”. But what if the goal were reframed into an emotional state of positivity like gratitude that I brushed and flossed, and pride that I did, or even simply thankful that I have this goal? I know we don’t have long goal names, but such a goal would be something like, “feel grateful that you brushed and floss (after you do it)” or “reflect on how glad you are that you’ve been brushing your teeth now (after you do it)”.
The goal is to have some (potentially very small) positive feeling or reflection about brushing your teeth after you do it. This presumes and requires that you actually complete the goal, but it also attaches a small hit of positive reinforcement.
The other side of the coin could also be effective. Feel something negative about not brushing teeth, just before you do it. Many people who brush their teeth regularly have a bad feeling about not brushing. They imagine the little bacteria creating plaque, eating away at their teeth, or they just feel dirty.
So the goal could be “think about something negative about not brushing teeth, then brush teeth, then think something positive about having done so.”
I might add a prefix to my goals or to the extended description field, “nxp” to remind me that this is important:
n - negative thought/feeling
x - accomplish task
p - positive thought/feeling