{"id":3062,"date":"2023-06-26T02:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T06:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-mini-habits-can-change-your-life\/"},"modified":"2023-06-26T02:37:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T06:37:00","slug":"how-mini-habits-can-change-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-mini-habits-can-change-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How Mini Habits Can Change Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.<\/em><\/p>\n

A month ago, I read Stephen Guises’s book Mini Habits: Smaller Habits. Bigger Results<\/a>.\u00a0 What I loved about the content was Stephen’s emphasize on how small changes can have an amazing impact in your life.\u00a0 His \u201cmini habit\u201d concept is something I’ve incorporated into my life.\u00a0 And so far, it has worked really well.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Hi, my name is Stephen.<\/p>\n

For 209 days in a row, I\u2019ve exercised 3-6x a week. For 123 days straight and counting, I\u2019ve read and written quite a bit. I don’t burn out or miss days (not even Christmas).<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t bragging\u2014not even close<\/i>\u2014because my success isn\u2019t due to being \u201cextra special.\u201d My success is due to something special I\u2019ve found<\/i>.<\/p>\n

One semester in college, I didn\u2019t buy any of my classes’ books; I attended only exam days in one class so I could play more Halo 3. <\/p>\n

I was happy to get B’s and higher that semester. Looking back, I don’t blame myself for slacking off, because I wasn’t the problem<\/i>. I’m not avoiding responsibility here, but clarifying a truth rarely spoken:<\/p>\n

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We succeed or fail not by our inherit merit, but by our life strategies.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you\u2019ve been failing to do what you want to do in life, don\u2019t be so quick to blame yourself. We like to attribute success or failure to ourselves, but that focus is misguided. Think about it: you are going to be you. Your behavior and abilities are predictable.<\/p>\n

Strategy, Not Motivation<\/h2>\n

When people try to change, they usually try to get amped up for the change, but no matter how badly you want the change, you haven’t changed yet! As motivation wanes, so does progress. You don’t need more motivation<\/a>, you need a strategy that can leverage the abilities of the current you into a better you. <\/i><\/p>\n

On Decemeber 28, 2012, I was a sad person, sitting on my bed and wishing for the motivation star to come swoop down and energize me. The problem I had was exercise\u2014I wanted it, but I wasn’t getting it. I was in average-at-best shape and far away from my goals. <\/p>\n

After 10 years of trying and falling short of my fitness goals, I hoped for success, but expected the same results, and I would have gotten them had I not changed fitness habit strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How \u201cThe One Push-up Challenge\u201d Changed My Strategy<\/b><\/h2>\n

The motivation star never did come save me, but I was able to turn my life around in the most embarrassing way possible. I didn’t set the goal to climb every mountain in the world. I didn’t resolve to transform my fitness on the top of a mountain as I beat my chest like King Kong.<\/p>\n

I decided to do a single push-up.<\/i> Yeah, that’s it.<\/i><\/p>\n

Michael Michalko’s book,<\/i> Thinkertoys<\/a>, <\/i>is a creative thinking book that gave me this crazy idea. Michalko talks about a technique called False Faces, where you consider the opposite of what you’re currently thinking to see a full spectrum of possibilities. <\/p>\n

Regarding fitness, I was thinking of my big and intimidating goals, and \u201cdo one push-up\u201d popped into my head as the opposite.<\/p>\n

I scoffed at the idea\u2026 until I tried it. This tiny goal bloomed into a full workout that I couldn’t do \u201cstraight up.\u201d Afterward, I set the goal to do one push-up every day in 2013 and called it \u201cThe One Push-up Challenge<\/a>.\u201d I didn’t always do a lot more, but I always did something<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Then, I noticed the consistent, daily exercise<\/a>, however small, was changing my brain. All forms of exercise were getting easier; I was forming a habit.<\/p>\n

Daily exercise in small amounts is far more powerful than single, intense workout sessions. The former can become habit and destroy your resistance over time, while the latter makes you really sore for a few days and that’s about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When my resistance to exercise had been whittled down, I began my current streak of going to the gym 3-6x a week. I haven’t looked back.<\/p>\n

Why Mini Habits Work Every Time<\/b><\/h2>\n

I knew I was on to something. <\/b>To exercise more is one thing, but to not have to face resistance to do it is game-changing<\/i>. This \u201cstupid\u201d technique was like magic. My goals were \u201ctoo small to fail,\u201d and yet, not too small to matter. <\/p>\n

My results were significant <\/b>and <\/i>consistent\u2014<\/b>better than any other strategy I had tried (and I write about personal development<\/a> every day, so I’ve tried almost everything).<\/p>\n

During this time, I furiously researched. I found that:<\/p>\n

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