You and I are creatures of habits. It’s amazing how many decisions are made in our daily lives without thinking. Some studies even show that subconscious habit makes up 40% of our daily actions! Therefore, in order to keep that ‘40%’ full of healthy actions we’ll discuss how to change unhealthy habits with “mini habits”.
One misconception about habits is that they take a lot of effort to build, but I disagree. Nature shows us that a small snowball rolling downhill will eventually get bigger and stronger with enough momentum. The snowball doesn’t require much “effort” once it gets going. In the same way, we’ll use effortless mini habits to build daily momentum towards our goals.
A small snowball (mini habit) doesn’t require much effort once momentum kicks in.
There’s a saying that goes “success is built upon success”. Fortunately this quote never mentions how big the success has to be! Think of a mini-habit as a daily task towards your goal that’s SO simple that it’s hard not to do it every day. For instance:
If your goal is to improve your gym consistency, start a mini habit of driving past your local gym on the way home each day (nothing more!)
If you want to build a strong core, start a mini habit of simply laying in sit-up position on the ground for a few seconds (yep! that’s it!)
If you want to drink more watereach day, start a mini habit of simply filling up a water bottle (I didn’t even say you had to drink it!)
“Great! But isn’t this a little TOO simple…what’s the catch?”
Mini habits are designed to get you comfortable with taking the first step towards your new goal (a healthier habit).
Therefore, these too-easy-not-to-do mini-habits simply serve as your “daily bare minimum” accomplishment for the day. However, I assure you it won’t be long before you naturally feel compelled to do more simply because you “might as well”. You’ll figure:
“I’m already driving by the gym each day (mini habit accomplished), I might as well go inside on the treadmill for a couple minutes”
“I’m already down here in sit-up position (mini habit accomplished), I might as well do a couple”
“I’ve already filled my water bottle (mini habit accomplished), I might as well drink some”
Remember: The “mini habit accomplished” is your main goal, anything else is an extra bonus.
The power of a simplistic habit checklist goes a long way.
Furthermore, I would seriously recommend making your momentum visible by utilizing a journal or checklist calendar. Keeping track of your progress this way is a great way to see your “success building upon itself”. Seeing your daily momentum gives yourself a satisfying sense of accomplishment every day. The longer your daily “success streak” gets, the more you’ll want to keep it alive.
And boom – you’ve just created discipline without even realizing it.
Let’s get that snowball rollin 🙂
Key Takeaway:
New habits are best acquired through daily momentum
Daily momentum is best sustained through simple, mini habits
A mini-habit (baby step) is something that’s “too-easy-not-to-do“
Keep track of your daily progress in a journal or calendar checklist
As physical beings, we’re naturally inclined to focus on the physical whenever we get tired during a workout. However, the reality is that mental fatigue almost always precedes physical fatigue. Today’s professional athletes are well aware of how the mind effects bodily response. In Power of Imagination, we discussed one mental approach in helping to enhance our workouts. Today we’ll go over two more ways we can enhance our workouts mentally.
1) Perceived Strength
We have the ability to alter our minds into thinking the weight we’re lifting isn’t as physically strenuous as it really is!
‘Mental’ gains starts with (*wait for it*) the MIND!
Our perception of a task has a direct impact on our mental gains. For example, instead of looking at 35-pound dumb bells as 35 pounds, envision them as weighing only 25-pounds and watch how your body responds accordingly! Sometimes I’ll even go as far as talking to the weights out loud to reinforce things mentally:
“C’mon, c’mon! Squeeze! Light weight! Light weight! Too easy!”
Thankfully, this mental strategy works ideal for when we’re already fatigued and working through a set. Obviously, the best part is that we actually are lifting heavier than what we’re projecting. This works out great because now we’re building strength from our mental gains.
2) The Mental Process of Staying in the Moment
While recently working out I decided to switch things up by lifting lighter weights with higher repetitions (about 20). However, I was struggling to complete the full set of 20 reps as I became fatigued towards the end. At this point I decided not to worry about end results, and instead, focus on each individual moment.
In other words, instead of focusing on the entire set, I refocused my attention on completing just “one rep”, 20-consecutive times.
Slowing down and concentrating on each individual rep helps build mental endurance.
This type of process strategy allowed me to stay in the moment and mentally reset after each rep. Perhaps one the greatest benefits is that it allows you to refocus all your energy on the now. The next time you’re struggling through a set just remind yourself to slow things down and refocus on what you’re trying to accomplish. The results will speak for themselves!
Things to Keep in…Mind
Developing mental gains is a skill that requires practice. Ultimately, both strength and mental gains compliment each other due to the synergizing efforts of our mind and body (ie. picture your brain as your entire body). So even if you’re a beginner weightlifter, it’s paramount that you begin looking at your exercises as mental-workouts because the more you stimulate the mind the stronger you become!
Key Takeaways:
Mental fatigue precedes physical fatigue
Our perception of a task has a direct impact on our mental gains
Refocus all your mental energy on the now
Developing mental gains is a skill that requires practice
One summer while working at a gym I became curious about how fast I could sprint 40-yards. I decided to time myself on the indoor track and my first sprint came out to around 4.8 seconds. As a former athlete I didn’t think 4.8 seconds was very fast, and so it turned into a self-competition to reach a “fast enough time”.
Notice, I never gave myself an actual goal of how fast I wanted to run.
The only “goal” I had was to keep beating my best time.
Competing against the yourself provides an intrinsic motivation like nonother.
This went on for months until I finally peaked at around 4.49 seconds.
In “Why Not Me”, we learned to narrow our focus on becoming the best version of ourselves. Moreover, we ultimately become the best version of ourselves by competing against ourselves. Perhaps the best thing about self-competition is that it prevents you from comparing yourself to others. With self-competition the focus is on you. This is why I suggest visual strategies like journaling to help focus you on your daily progress (and not anyone else’s 🙂 )
Self-competition makes it easier to stop comparing yourselves to others.
What are some things you did yesterday that you can do even better today?
Can you exercise for 5 more minutes today?
Raise the intensity?
Increase your sets and reps?
Even if you’re new to the gym start by recognizing where you’re currently at and take baby steps from there. If you only go to the gym once a week, try going twice a week for a month. If you only know how to use one cardio machine, try learning a new one next time. Regardless of skill level, the key is to continuously have something to work towards.
Soon enough you’ll notice that you’re not just your greatest competitor, but your greatest ally as well.
Key Takeaways:
Self-competition requires practice
We ultimately become the best version of ourselves through self-competition
Self-competition prevents you from comparing yourself to others
If you’re like me, you’ve struggle with consistency in one area or another. (And if you’re really like me, you’ve struggled to keep consistent with playing the guitar!) Arrghhhh! 😒)
I’ve started and stopped the guitar dozens of times!
When I first practiced the guitar I noticed a trend: I’d practice guitar for an hour or so – and then not touch it again for several months! This cycle continued for years until I finally realized that my skill level was a reflection of my consistency (or lack there of).
Developing consistency is something that’s vital for our all-around personal development. When it comes to exercise consistency, my personal belief has always been quantity over quality. Through my years as a personal trainer, I’ve witnessed far more with the guy who exercises to 4-5 times a week for 15-minutes, than the guy who does intense 1-hour workouts whenever he “has time”.
There’s nothing like the feeling of stacking up consecutive victories!
In my experience I’ve found that success comes from taking small, consistent steps. The awesome part is that taking small, consistent steps can be applied to practically anything:
Instead of trying to exercise 5 times a week for 1 hour, trying starting out with 3 times a week for 20 minutes.
Maybe commit to reading one chapter a day instead of trying to finish an entire book in one sitting.
Rather than setting out to meditate for 20 minutes each day, try three minutes instead
Consistency leads to habits, while habits lead to long-term success. They say it takes 21 days to build a new habit, so determine to develop that 3-week foundation and you’ll be exercising regularly in no time!
Key Takeaways:
Your consistency is paramount to your success
For developing consistency, quantity of effort means more than quality
Trying to do “too much, too soon” can hinder your progress (start off small!)
