Your life makes sense only when you embrace change, move with it, and dance with it.
Just after Christmas in late 2012, I was thinking back on the year like many others.
I knew I could do better in too many aspects of my life, but I wanted to look into other choices because, according to research from the University of Scranton, New Year’s Resolutions only had an 8% success rate. Since I dislike arbitrary start dates, I also knew I wanted to begin before January 1st.
I made the decision to get in excellent shape on December 28th. But I did not do any exercise in the days and weeks prior, and I felt bad about it. I wanted to work out for thirty minutes, but it felt unattainable.
I was exhausted, without motivation, and feeling unworthy due to my guilt. Feeling stuck, I recalled a method I had read about in a book. Little did I know that this method would significantly alter my life in 2013.
Thinking on the opposite of an idea you are stuck on is a technique from the creativity book Thinkertoys. I considered the opposite after looking at my 30-minute workout objective and my massive fitness strategy to get in excellent shape.
You may argue that consuming fast food and lounging on the couch are the opposites, but I thought of size.
Imagine if I performed a single push-up rather than bearing this tremendous fitness burden.
At first, I laughed at the notion. How ridiculous it is to perform one push-up and pretend that it has any significance! However, after struggling with my larger intentions for a while, I gave in to the temptation and performed one push-up, followed by several more because I was already in that position.
Once my muscles were warmed up, I made the decision to attempt a pull-up. I ended up doing a few more, as you could have predicted. I worked out for thirty minutes in the end.
I could not believe I had just transformed a single push-up into an entire workout. Indeed, I did.
The One Push-Up Challenge Is Bor
I then issued a challenge to my blog readers: for a whole year, perform at least one push-up every day. It has been quite successful for others, and this is what it became for me: I have been going to the gym three or six times a week for exercise for the past three months or more, and as a result, I am in excellent form. I finally understand why it works.
Psychology and neurology have always piqued my interest, and I research them for my writing. Everything began to make sense when I learned about the research on willpower that demonstrates its limitations.
I was unable to complete my thirty-minute workout because I lacked or had exhausted my resolve. But because it only took a small amount of determination to begin, I was able to complete one push-up and transition into a 30-minute workout, after which my body and mind ceased opposing the notion.
Naturally, this idea applies to every aspect of your life that you want to improve, not just your level of fitness. And I think habits are the ideal approach for me to use this strategy.
What’s More Important Than Your Habits?
Nothing. According to a Duke University study, habits account for roughly 45% of your overall behavior. Furthermore, you engage in these actions on a regular basis, which adds to their importance in your life. Your habits serve as your basis, and if they are weak, you will not be satisfied with your life.
People attempt to do too much at once, which is why they are unable to make changes in their life and establish new habits. Simply said, you will fail at your new habit if it demands more effort than you have. You will succeed if your new habit takes less willpower than you can muster.
However, the computation must account for both one incident and times when your willpower is weak due to fatigue. Then, could you continue?
Writing is something I have been wanting to do more of. I write for a living, so it is quite crucial that I practice because it is therapeutic for me. I discovered how to combine the effectiveness of The One Push-Up Challenge with a habit plan after realizing that I was not writing as much as I should.
How To Change Your Life With Mini Habits
Mini habits are just that—mini. You start by deciding on a habit or change you want to develop. It could be reading two books a week, writing 1,000 words a day, or adopting a more optimistic outlook. I have managed to accomplish three at once.
Subsequently, you reduce these behaviors to the level of “stupid tiny,” a word I coined because the requirement sounds foolish when spoken aloud. These are mine:
1.Every day, write fifty words (a narrative, article, etc.).
2. Compose fifty words every day for my book about habits.
3. Every day, read two pages of a book.
Simple, is not it? In twenty minutes, I could finish this list. I have so far fulfilled these daily obligations 100% of the time, and even more.
For the past twelve days and counting, I have actually read ten to thirty pages every day and produced one to two thousand words. I was writing very little and not reading at all before this.
Your brain falls for the bait, which is why it works.
Only fifty words, huh? I am able to write that.
After that, you begin. And, like me, you will discover that positive things happen once you get going.
Ten Daily Mini Habit Ideas
- Give someone a compliment
- Contemplate two optimistic ideas
- Spend a minute in meditation
- List three things for which you are grateful.
- Perform one push-up.
- Compose fifty words.
- Go through two pages.
- Perform ten jump jacks.
- Take a hundred steps outside.
- Have a glass of water.
It is easier than you might believe to change almost every aspect of your life, one small habit at a time.
You give yourself permission to begin when you take away the expectations and pressure.
Which small habit or habits are you going to start today?