Take some tiny steps
Want to shift one of your behaviors? There is a formula for that! And it applies to everything from flossing our teeth to running a marathon. A Wall Street Journal article shared that this approach was tested with more than 40,000 people over the past decade.
To instill a new habit, the first thing we need is motivation. For this we can pick a behavior that we want to do rather than one we merely feel obligated to do. We can choose one we’re already eager to adopt. That’s half the battle!
Second, we need to be able to do it, so we make the change simple and small at first. We go tiny. Why? Tiny is successful and sustainable because it is simpler.
Third, we need a personal prompt. We need to identify a way to reliably trigger the desired behavior. So we design a prompt. We already automatically respond to hundreds of behavior prompts each day that we barely notice. (We see the traffic light turn yellow and we either slow down or speed up!)
The best way we can prompt a new habit is to anchor it to an existing routine in our life, like laying out our exercise clothes next to our car keys in order to go to the gym. Or…we can drink a glass of water when we turn on the computer in the morning. Or..?
Finally, we need to celebrate our new habit, so that our brain associates it with positive feelings.
We need to celebrate immediately in the moment. It isn’t primarily the repetition over a long period that creates habits. It’s the emotion that we attach to them from the start.
It’s so easy to underestimate the power of small change. But some of the most profound transformations start from small adjustments – from suffering to less suffering, from fear to hope, from feeling overwhelmed to being empowered.
Sometimes we are discouraged because we look to how far off the achievement of our change or goal is. But it is much more productive (and satisfying!) to look back and see how far we have come already!
So we don’t need to work towards big, ambitious goals. By going tiny, we can create the changes that will change everything!
(So now that I’ve finished this computer work, I’m off to refill my water glass!)
What tiny step will YOU take?
6 Comments
My current adventure with bronchitis and the love of family wanting to do something for me are urging me to take a different role now and then. I resolve to allow myself to step back and accept help, when it’s appropriate. It really is okay!
Meg, sometimes that tiny step IS a step back, particularily for those who normally are taking so many steps all the time! Knowing health for you!
It feels to me as though there are so many things happening in my life that need tiny steps to move forward that for the sake of this comment, I will decide to take the tiny step of deciding which of the other tiny steps to take first.
Russ I always enjoy your humor and I applaud your tiny step of deciding from among all your other tiny steps!
Thank you, Pat. It’s good for me to be reminded to take tiny steps. Frequently I choose between taking big steps to get it all done at once or no steps. Tiny steps is a great alternative.
I like Russ’ idea of tiny steps and need to prioritize where my tiny steps need to take me 1st! Thanks Pat!