Do you want your life to be getting better and better? I know, I know, that’s a silly question. I know I want my life to be steadily improving, and I suspect just about everyone else does too. What a lot of people don’t know, is that there is a very simple technique which makes that easy. The method is so easy to use and straightforward that this article will be rather short. It’s just that simple.

    I was reminded of this technique when I saw it show up as one of the steps in Mark Joyner’s Simpleology program. That is just the latest incarnation, as it has been used by focused and successful people through history from great religious men to presidents.

    It is the continual process of self-review. I know you were expecting some fancy name with a trademark and what I gave you sounded really boring, but hear me out.

    What you do is to regularly (generally at the end of each day) think back over your day and write down the things you did wrong and what you can do in the future to keep from making the same mistakes. In the Simpleology program this is used to help analyze places where you are wasting time or reducing your energy, but the technique can be applied to anything.
Religious: I have read of great religious men of the past asking themselves each night how they could have been purer. If they had allowed some base thought in their minds, they would work to keep it from happening again.

    Health: What better choices could you have made in what you ate, how you exercised, or the activities you engaged in?

    Financial: Did you spend money you shouldn’t and how could you have used it better? What decisions could you have made to put yourself in a better financial position?

    Social: Did you say something you wish you hadn’t? Made some unwelcome joke or discouraging comment? Did you not say something you should have?

    You get the picture. This technique is adaptable to any area of behavior you are focused on. Not only that, but you don’t have to use it for some specialty. If you have a clear picture of the person you want to become, merely ask yourself what decisions you made that day that don’t draw you towards being that person. Figure out how you can avoid making that same mistake or a similar one in the future.

    THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Don’t forget to use this technique the other direction to help you reinforce positive behaviors. Whatever your goal is, ask yourself if you did anything that took you towards it, and figure out how to repeat that success.
I know, I know this all sounds so simple and self-obvious, but think of all the people you know who make the same mistakes over and over again. How many people do you know who seem to be on an endlessly repeating cycle of bad finances, bad relationships, bad morals, or whatever other area they struggle in? How many times have you wished that they could just see the same couple mistakes they make over and over again and fix them?

    All of us can benefit from this little technique, even if our poor choices aren’t major ones. In fact it is especially helpful because the little decisions which keep us from improving are not obvious so we don’t automatically work on them, and the decisions which take us forward may not have caught our attention so we don’t repeat them.

    The best part about this little technique is that it isn’t like those major goal setting sessions where you organize your life and try to change the entire course of your future in a single four hour euphoria-high session. That kind of overhaul can have it’s purposes, but your enthusiastic plans and goals are normally forgotten within days, until desperation drives you to do it again (i.e. New Year’s resolutions). No, this is a little habit that takes maybe five minutes an evening and keeps you on a steady even keel of continual improvement.

    Try it for a month or so. If you aren’t used to keeping a journal, it might feel weird, but just do it for a few minutes each night and then review your entries every month or so. You will find your negative behaviors steadily decreasing and your positive ones increasing, and you will get your wish of a life that gets better and better each day.

    你希望你的生活越来越好吗？我知道这是个问题很傻。我知道我希望我的生活持续稳步提高，但我怀疑其他人是否也希望如此。很多人并不明白只需一个非常简单的技巧就可以达到这个愿望。这个技巧是如此简单和直接，所以这篇文章也简短。因为确实太简单了。

    Mark Joyner的Simpleology课程中的一个步骤让我想起这个技巧。Simpleology课程也是源自这个技巧，历史上的专注和成功人士，从宗教领袖到总统都曾使用它。

    这就是持续的自省。我知道你期望的是列举一些如雷贯耳的大名而不是我在这喋喋不休，但是请听我讲完。

    你要做的是定期地（通常在一天结束时）回顾当天，写下你做错的事和今后你该如何避免犯同样的错误。在Simpleology课程中，这个方法帮助你分析出在哪部分浪费时间和精力，但该技巧可以用于任何方面。

    宗教方面：我读到过历史上很多宗教领袖每晚自我拷问如何能够更加纯洁，如果他们有丝毫杂念，他们会努力避免这些杂念再次发生。

    健康方面：在饮食、锻炼和活动上你还能做出哪些更好的选择？
财政方面：你是否花了不该花的钱？你本该如何更好的使用这笔钱？做出哪些决定本可以给你带来更好的财政状况？

    社交方面：你说了哪些不该说的话？说了哪些不受欢迎的笑话和令人泄气的言论？又忘了说哪些你该说的话？

    了解了吧。这个方法可以用于你专注的任何领域。不仅如此，你甚至不用特别用于从事某项专业。如果你清楚自己想变成怎样的人，只需要问问当天你做了哪些决定让自己与梦想背道而驰。弄清楚该怎样做才能避免在今后犯同样或类似的错误。

    这一点非常重要！别忘了换个方向，使用该技巧帮助你强化积极的行为。不论你的目标是什么，问问你自己你是否在朝这个目标迈进，并弄清楚如何保持这些进步。

    我知道，我知道以上都听起来极其简单甚至显而易见，但是想想你认识的所有人都在一次又一次犯着同样的错误。有多少你所认识的人正不断置身财政困境无法脱身，深陷某段不健康的关系中无法抽身，又或是自我堕落无法自拔等等。多少次你曾希望他们能够意识到自己在重复同样的错误，并且努力修正？

    这个小技巧能让我们所有人受益匪浅。即使我们做出的选择微不足道。事实上，正是因为与自我改进相关的决定如此微小以致我们往往不会主动的注意。这些促使我们进步的微小决定容易被忽略，而不知重复。

    该技巧最棒的地方是不像大型的誓师大会组织你的生活并试图在某个四小时斗志昂扬的聚会上改变你的未来。这类检查有它自己的目标，但你的满腔热情地计划和目标会随着时间的推移而被忘却，直到你绝望的再次重复（比如新年愿望等）。它只是一个小习惯，每晚只需花费你五分钟的时间，却能促进你持续不断的进步。

    试着坚持一个月。如果你不习惯记日记，也许会有点不习惯，每晚五分钟对一天做个回顾并在每月检查你的记录。你会发现你的负面行为在逐渐减少而积极行为持续增加，你会实现你自身的愿望变得越来越好。