Today we'll walk through how to create tiny habits that can help to have a positive impact on your life.
Most people think they must rely on motivation to make behavior change. Often times it is simplicity that changes behavior. Simplicity frees you from being dependent on wavering motivation and helps to make lasting change. Once you understand that, take a look at three types of behaviors that make it easier to make tiny habits:
-
Learn a New Skill: by learning a new skill you are making a behavior easier to do. This can be things like learning new weight training exercises in the gym or new cooking skills to prepare healthy meals.
-
Bring a Tool or Resource Into your Environment: having access to people, places, or tools gives you the resources to make it easier to integrate tiny habits. This could be access to the gym or equipment at home, working with a trainer, or purchasing an air-fryer or fresh produce to make healthy meals easier to prepare.
-
Scale Back a Behavior to Make it Smaller: scale back a behavior so it is easier to build into your daily routine. Instead of going to the gym for 1 hour, you might commit to doing 15 jumping jacks. Instead of a full meal of all healthy food, include one healthier side item to make your meals healthier step-by-step. Over time you will be able to grow and expand the behavior.
Any one of these or a combination of these behaviors can be utilized to make tiny habit changes. Once you know what behavior you want to apply, it is time to create your Tiny Habit Recipe! The ingredients in the recipe include:
Step 1: Define your Anchor Moment
The anchor moment is an existing routine that is reliable and specific in your life that will remind you to do the new behavior. Such as:
“After I put my feet on the floor in the morning….”
Step 2: Decide on the Tiny Behavior:
The tiny behavior is the new behavior you want to complete but scaled back to be super tiny and very easy. Such as:
“I will do arm stretches for 30 seconds.”
Step 3: Celebration
Find something you do to create a positive feeling inside yourself after the behavior. This will help make you feel successful and wire the habit into your brain. For example:
“Then I will stand up and raise my hands in triumph!”
These three steps are all combined to form a tiny habit recipe. Feel free to revise as needed. If a habit isn’t working, find a new ingredient whether it be a new anchor moment, behavior, or even celebration. If you are ready to scale up, add the next step of your behavior change. Applying the method is a skill you can get better at with practice. Start exploring a Tiny Habit Recipe today!