Are Streaks Effective in the Long Term?

Strips have a negative and potentially unhealthy side effect of punishing ourselves for failure. If streaks aren't that effective in the long term, what should we do? What i think could be more effective is looking at progress in other ways. The question of how committed are you is what is important. When you're very committed to the behavior, because it's an established habit, or you have a lot riding on it, it's just going to get done no matter what.