Have a New Goal? Use Your Password to Set Your Intentions

Pursuing a new goal in your professional or personal life can be daunting. Research suggests that reflecting on the intention behind your goal can lay the groundwork needed to achieve it. Changing your password for your computer, email, or anything else is an extremely simple and potentially powerful strategy for staying engaged with your intention. The key is to choose a new password that reflects the state of mind you wish to establish. The following research-based tips can help you make the ideal choice for positive change.

Mindfulness experts note that setting an intention is key to gaining the full benefits of a mindful practice. A mindfully based password may be especially effective on your workplace computer. Studies show that mindful employees have improved engagement and performance. If you seek to improve your focus at work, you may select the simple “BePresent.” But if you’re concerned about both productivity and burnout, “Work25Break5” might provide a balanced approach.

This technique can also help you be more present with your loved ones. Parents and children report that devices are a distraction during family time. Therefore, if you want to stop checking your phone during family dinners or when out with friends, consider changing your phone’s passcode to one that promotes awareness of how you direct your attention. A passcode like “Family” or “BeHere” may help you pause before you reflexively respond to that text.

Sports psychology also provides great insights for goal achievement. The research shows that motivating self-talk has a positive impact on athlete performance. Using passwords like “IAmPrepared” or “IFeelGood” may be especially good for a student logging in to take exams or for gamers preparing to compete.

If you’re changing your password in a context where you feel disempowered, look to self-affirmation theory. This theory argues that when we feel threats to our personal integrity, reflecting on our values can be restorative. The data show that values-based self-affirmation can lead to better performance in a wide range of areas by creating feelings of self-efficacy.

For example, if you’ve been struggling financially, a password stating “IAmCompetent” may be validating as you log into your online banking. By reflecting on our personal values, we can improve performance in totally unrelated areas of our lives. So, in this case, you may select a password that is more general like “IAmTrustworthy” versus the more specific “IAmGoodWithMoney.”

Self-affirmation can be particularly helpful when people are seeking to improve their health. For example, one study found that participants who completed a self-affirmation exercise maintained their weight over two years, while a control group gained weight.

Another study encouraged participants to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. Researchers found that participants who completed a brief self-affirmation task ate significantly more fruits and vegetables in the week that followed when compared to a control group.

Therefore, if you’re logging into a weight maintenance app or your health care portal, it might help to have a password like “IAmAKindPerson” or “IGiveToOthers.” Though these values are not directly related to your health, by affirming your sense of personal integrity, they could help you respond adaptively to challenges you may face.

Finally, you want to consider the tone of your password. A major review of the self-talk literature shows that positive self-talk is more effective than negative self-talk for improving performance. Other studies suggest that negative self-talk may have harmful effects. Thus, instead of “DontBeLazy,” “ICanDoIt” could be a more helpful password. In short, no matter what password you choose, be sure to keep it positive.