macro effects of micro-habits

We live in an era of self-improvement – whether it’s the glare of social media or the glow of just wanting to reach our full potential, our time is filled with big ideas, promises to be better, and grandiose designs to change our life. Often, we fail and often we feel terrible. Micro-habits can change that, taking tiny steps each day is far more manageable than running a marathon. In short, small changes can reap big benefits.

Whatever your big goal is, don’t bite off more than you can chew. For example, you declare you want to learn French, commit to ten lessons a month and then realize half way through your first week that you don’t have the time and energy to do this. You feel intimidated by your own declaration, then you feel guilty for not completing it. But, with a micro-habit, you can commit to just learning one or two words a day. It’s easier for your brain to retain information that way, it hasn’t cost you a fortune, and you have used minimal effort. This is the magic of the micro-habit, which in turn leads to behavior momentum.

We all want to read more, learn yoga, get fitter, be more cultured, work less and eat better. Yet, these are all vague sentiments and with vagueness comes no real plan. Working micro-habits into your daily routine gives you a sensible and perfectly achievable direction. It’s one page a day, one stretch in the morning, one ten-minute break from the computer, and one piece of fruit.

When you make a commitment to repeating one small change a day, before you know it – you have changed your life without even realizing it. The hardest part is getting started and remembering that you should read a page or eat more fruit, yet this is so much easier than implementing a whole new cooking regime or reading all of War and Peace in a weekend.

With minimal effort and just a small tweak in your routine, we can achieve so much without even realising it – all without the fog of failure hanging over your head. Micro-habits also encourage healthy thinking; they remind us that it doesn’t always take grand gestures to get us where we are going, but one tiny step can kickstart the difference.  

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