tl;dr: start with small habits!
Small habits might seem insignificant, but their cumulative effect is incredible. If you can get just 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you're done. This concept of marginal gains over time underscores the importance of small, consistent improvements.
Small habits make the habit forming process more manageable and sustainable, and therefore more likely to be effective. By starting with tiny, easily achievable habits, you reduce the need for high motivation and make it easier to succeed. A small and easy habit ensures that it's easy to start, and once it's started, it's much more likely to be finished.
The power is in the consistency. Each time you complete a habit, you lay one brick. Lay enough bricks over time, and you build a house. That's how habits are formed: one brick at a time.
So how do I design a small habit?
Don't underestimate how small you can go. Begin with habits that are so small they seem trivial. If at the beginning you're dying to do more, that's a good sign. Don't do more. Yet.
If you want to start a fitness routine, and you've never worked out, begin with just two push ups a day.
If you want to start a meditation habit, do it for 2 minutes.
The key is to make the habit so easy that you can't say No. You should be able to still complete the habit on your worst day.
Why do tiny habits work?
They lay the foundation for bigger habits. When you're building a new habit, the first phase is about creating space in your expected daily routine, both the one on your calendar and the one in your brain, for your habit. In the earliest stages, it is not about the output you hope to achieve from the habit, it's more about forming the neural pathway in your brain that tells your body to save time and energy to do this thing everyday.
For example, if I want to build a new daily running habit so that I can run a marathon, and I choose to run for 5 minutes everyday, that won't get me in marathon shape (the ultimate output you hope for). But what it does is it makes running part of my identity, and it creates a space in my daily routine for future runs (carving neural pathways). I can gradually increase the distances over time. This is the strategy for long term success.
They are manageable and achievable. Starting with small habits makes it easier to succeed. When a habit is tiny, it doesn’t require much effort or motivation to complete. This increases the likelihood of sticking with it. Bigger goals can be intimidating and overwhelming. Breaking them down into small habits makes the process more approachable and less daunting.
Consistency is greater than intensity 8 days a week!
The Compounding Effect of Small Habits
Improving by just 1% each day leads to a 37x improvement over a year. This compounding effect is powerful and shows that small, consistent actions can lead to significant results over time. By focusing on tiny habits, you're not just making small changes; you're laying the foundation for exponential growth 🚀 .
To Summarize
The importance of small habits cannot be overstated. By incorporating tiny, easily achievable actions into your daily routine, you set yourself up for success and harness the power of incremental improvement.
