Tiny Habits

All, Navigating Life

by Tori Roalef
February 6, 2024

Have you ever felt daunted by the prospect of building a habit? You may have found that building a habit takes a lot of willpower and effort, and you just don’t have the time or energy to do a behavior for 30 days in a row to make it a habit.

If so, let’s reframe it together. Building a habit does not have to involve a lot of effort. We can still get big, remarkable results by doing one teeny, tiny step at a time.

The Idea of the Week

Let’s first consider that a significant portion of what we do daily is habitual.

Getting out of bed and making your bed. Reaching for your phone when you first wake up. Having coffee with breakfast. Driving to and from work. Scrolling through social media during lunch break. Watching a video over dinner. Brushing your teeth.

Our days are filled with habits and behaviors that we perform automatically. The behaviors listed above are just a few habits that can make up our day.

So, you’ve already built habits; your day is filled with evidence that you can create a habit. But now, how do you continue to build habits that help you reach your goal? How is brushing your teeth supposed to help you reach your goal of becoming a skilled speaker? How is making your bed supposed to help you build a meditation habit?

In this 15-minute TEDx Talk, BJ Fogg shares a recipe for building a new habit that starts with an already existing habit and a tiny behavior. He shows that the key to lasting changes in our behavior relies on taking one really small step.

We take that tiny step after a habit we have already formed because, in short, “relying primarily on motivation to change your behavior long-term is a losing strategy. […] Motivation actually applies to other kinds of temporary behavior change.”

It’s not about channeling all of your energy into building a new habit; it’s about building your momentum off an existing habit and making the behavior small enough that you can do it even when you have low motivation and willpower.

The Practice of the Week

First, assess your current habits: what behaviors do you do, and when? Another part you can add to this assessment is how you feel after each behavior and activity. Does it give you energy, or exhaust you? Do you feel good afterward, or do you feel sluggish? Dig into your sensory experiences. This additional part will also help you identify the habits that you want to keep and habits you may want to break.

Then, find your anchoring habit: what existing habit can you use that will remind you to do your new Tiny habit? A key part of a habit is having a cue or call to do the behavior. Instead of setting reminders and alarms, try attaching the new habit after an already existing one. This can help you build the momentum to do the new behavior and create an automatic cue to perform the new behavior.

Identify the Tiny Behavior: consider the new habit you want to build and scale it down into a teeny, tiny behavior. Make sure the behavior is easy to do so you do not have to utilize a lot of willpower or motivation to complete it. For example, instead of “I will do a leg workout routine,” scale it down to “I will do 2 lunges.”

Finally, celebrate! When you do the new Tiny Behavior, immediately celebrate yourself for performing the new Tiny Behavior. Give yourself space to feel happy for learning to change your behavior.

For example, cheering “I’m awesome!” or “Nailed it!” at yourself or give yourself a high-five. Do something that makes you feel positive, uplifted, and happy. Here are more examples of celebrations that you can use.

It may feel awkward at first to celebrate your new Tiny Behavior, but it’s still important! Even though it’s a tiny step, it is a step you otherwise would not have taken. Also, celebrating your behavior reinforces it, so you are more likely to do that behavior again in the future.

Download the PDF of the Tiny Habit Recipe Card.

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News of the Week

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