Lasting Change For Early Quitters, Burnouts, The Unmotivated, And Everyone Else Too
When I decided to start exercising consistently 10 years ago, this is what actually happened:
I tried "getting motivated." It worked sometimes.
I tried setting audacious big goals. I almost always failed them.
I tried to make changes last. They didn't.
Like most people who try to change and fail, I assumed that I was the problem.
Then one afternoon--after another failed attempt to get motivated to exercise--I (accidentally) started my first mini habit. I initially committed to do one push-up, and it turned into a full workout. I was shocked. This "stupid idea" wasn't supposed to work. I was shocked again when my success with this strategy continued for months (and to this day). I had to consider that maybe I wasn't the problem in those 10 years of mediocre results. Maybe it was my prior strategies that were ineffective, despite being oft-repeated as "the way to change" in countless books and blogs.
I was right.
Is There A Scientific Explanation For This?
As I sought understanding, I found a plethora of scientific studies that had answers, with nobody to interpret them correctly. Based on the science--which you'll find peppered throughout Mini Habits--we've been doing it all wrong.
You can succeed without the guilt, intimidation, and repeated failure associated with such strategies as "getting motivated," New Year's Resolutions, or even "just doing it." In fact, you need to stop using those strategies if they aren't giving you great results. They don't work because they all require you to fight against your subconscious brain (a fight not easily won). It's only when you start playing by your brain's rules and taking your human limitations seriously--as mini habits show you how to do--that you can achieve lasting change.
What's A Mini Habit?
A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; its "too small to fail" nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. You will have no choice but to believe in yourself when you're always moving forward. The barrier to the first step is so low that even depressed or "stuck" people can find early success and begin to reverse their lives right away. And if you think one push-up a day is too small to matter, I've got one heck of a story for you!
Aim For The First Step
They say when you aim for the moon, you'll land among the stars. Well, that doesn't make sense, as the moon is closer than the stars. I digress. The message is that you should aim very high and even if you fall short, you'll still get somewhere. I've found the opposite to be true in regards to productivity and healthy behaviors. When you aim for the moon, you'll won't shoot because it's too far away. But when you aim for the step in front of you, you might just keep going and reach the moon.
I've used the Mini Habits strategy to get into the best shape of my life, read 10x more books, and write 4x as many words. It started from requiring one push-up from myself every day. How ridiculous is that? Not so ridiculous when you consider the science of the brain, habits, and willpower. The Mini Habits system works because it's how our brains are designed to change.
I relished the opportunity to share this life-changing strategy with the world. I loved writing Mini Habits. You'll see my passion in the content as well as the overall quality and presentation of the book.
Note: This book isn't for eliminating bad habits (though some principles could be useful for breaking habits). Mini Habits is a strategy to create permanent healthy habits. Some categories include: exercise, writing, reading, thinking positively, meditating, drinking water, eating healthy foods, etc.
Book sample note: The "look inside" Amazon preview lacks the cleanly spaced formatting of the actual Mini Habits book.
Stephen Guise founded the award-winning* Deep Existence blog in 2011. He has been writing about and researching personal growth strategies since 2004. Stephen's articles have been featured on some of the world's most popular websites, including: Lifehacker, Mind Body Green, Problogger, Tiny Buddha, Dumb Little Man, and Pick The Brain, among others.
Fueled by his passion for personal growth and a penchant for in-depth research and analysis, Guise has developed an array of unconventional, result-driven ideas. In particular, his ideas of extreme willpower conservation, non-motivation-based action plans, multiple-cue habit formation, success-cycling, and "stupid small" steps form the unique foundation of his first-published--and second overall--book, "Mini Habits."
*Deep Existence was voted the #1 personal development blog of 2012 by White Dove Books readers and staff over 22 other nominees.
我是在一个对我来说非常低谷的时期接触到这本书的,当时感觉自己对生活失去了掌控感,任何想开始的事情都像背着一块沉重的石头,寸步难行。坦白说,我对市面上所有声称能“彻底改变你人生”的书都抱持着一种怀疑态度,但这本书的视角非常独特,它不卖“励志鸡汤”,而是深入探讨了“行动的启动机制”。作者的笔触非常细腻,他没有忽略建立新习惯过程中必然会遇到的阻力——那些让你想放弃的瞬间、那些外界的干扰、以及最重要的,你内心深处的自我怀疑。他提供了一套近乎军事化、但又充满人情味的对抗策略。尤其让我印象深刻的是关于“执行意图”和“习惯堆叠”的论述,他把这两个概念解释得清晰透彻,并且提供了大量模板化的指导,让你能立刻上手实践。这本书的价值不在于给你一个模糊的方向,而在于给你了一把精确的刻刀,让你能把“我想做某事”这个模糊的愿望,雕刻成“在哪个时间点,于何处,进行一个微小动作”的清晰指令。读完合上书本时,我并没有感受到那种看完史诗巨著后的疲惫,反而有一种豁然开朗的轻松感,仿佛终于找到了那个可以让我重新迈出第一步的支点。
评分这本书最成功的地方,在于它成功地将一个看似复杂的心理学课题,转化成了一套人人都能掌握的日常操作流程。我感受最深的是,它教会了我如何重新定义“成功”。在过去,如果我设定了每天阅读一小时的目标,即使只读了五十分钟,我也会觉得自己失败了,并因此感到沮丧,可能第二天干脆就不读了。但读完此书后,我开始庆祝那“一个俯卧撑”或“一句话的写作”,这种对最小进步的肯定,带来的心理激励是巨大的。作者的行文逻辑非常清晰,每一步的推导都有坚实的心理学依据支撑,但又避免了使用晦涩的专业术语,使得这本书既有深度,又不失可读性。它没有试图将你塑造成一个不知疲倦的工作机器,而是鼓励你在保持生活质量和心理健康的前提下,进行缓慢而坚定的积累。对于那些被宏伟目标压得喘不过气,却渴望看到实际微小改变的人来说,这本书无疑是一剂良方,它真正做到了“小步快跑,持续迭代”的精髓。
评分这本关于习惯养成的书,读起来感觉像是一个老朋友在耳边轻声细语,没有那种居高临下的说教,而是非常接地气地分享着自己的心得和体会。作者似乎非常理解人们在尝试改变时那种力不从心、虎头蛇尾的窘境,所以他提出的方法不是那种要求你一下子跳上月球的宏大计划,而是非常务实地把每一个大目标拆解成一个个小到几乎不可能失败的“迷你”行动。我记得书里反复强调的就是那个“小到荒谬”的程度,比如每天只做一个俯卧撑,或者只读一页书。这种设定,初看可能会觉得有点滑稽,甚至有点不屑一顾,但深入阅读后,你才会领悟到其中蕴含的巨大心理学智慧。它巧妙地绕过了我们大脑中那个天生抗拒巨大改变的“警报系统”。一旦你轻松地完成了那个微小的任务,随之而来的成就感会自然而然地激发你做更多一点的欲望,这种由内而外的驱动力,远比外部的鞭策有效得多。整本书的叙述节奏很轻快,大量的个人故事和实际案例穿插其中,让理论不再枯燥,读起来非常流畅,完全没有传统自我提升书籍那种沉重的说教感,更像是一本生活指南,随时可以翻阅,从中汲取到新的动力。
评分我尝试过市面上大多数关于效率和习惯培养的读物,它们大多侧重于宏伟的蓝图和对“完美执行”的苛求,往往让初学者望而却步,最终不了了之。而这本书则完全是反其道而行之,它更像是一个经验丰富的教练,知道如何让你在不感觉自己像在“努力”的情况下,不知不觉地完成了既定的目标。这本书的语言风格异常的平实和真诚,没有任何浮夸的辞藻,读起来就像是听一个真正经历过挣扎并成功走出困境的朋友分享经验。其中有一部分内容是关于如何处理“习惯中断”的,这一点我深以为然。很多书在你中断后只会让你感到内疚,但这本书却非常科学地教导你如何“快速恢复”,而不是苛责自己。它将失败定义为“一次性的失误”,而不是“永久性的挫折”,这种心态上的微调,对于长期坚持来说至关重要。总而言之,它提供的是一种可持续的、低压力的行为改变框架,而非一时的兴奋剂,这才是它最宝贵的地方。
评分这本书的结构设计堪称一绝,它不是那种一气呵成的线性叙事,而是更像一本工具手册,每一章节都围绕着习惯建立的某个关键环节进行深入剖析。我特别欣赏作者在论述“一致性”而非“强度”时所用的类比,他用了一个非常形象的比喻,将微习惯比作“复利效应的最小单位”,强调了即使是微小的、每天坚持的行动,其长期累积起来的能量是惊人的,这彻底颠覆了我过去那种“不做到位就不算数”的僵化思维。内容中对“惰性”和“拖延症”的解构也十分到位,作者将拖延视为一种对当前任务的厌恶反应,而不是道德上的缺陷,这极大地减轻了读者的心理负担。通过这种非批判性的视角,读者更容易接受并应用书中提出的方法。此外,书中对于如何设计你的“微习惯环境”的建议也极其具体和可行,比如如何清理干扰源、如何设置触发器等,这些细节的处理,显示出作者不仅停留在理论层面,更是将实践的难度降到了最低,确保即便是最没有意志力的人也能从中获益。
评分一月适合发愿!啃硬骨头!
评分整本书就一个理论,设定一个很小很小的听起来感觉到很愚蠢的目标,每天轻松完成,把它养出每天必做的习惯,心情好状态好的时候可以多做点,自己会感觉到成就感满满,状态不好完成基本目标就可以,这样也不会因为目标太大完成不了而有内疚感。打三星是因为作者太啰嗦了哈哈哈
评分The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
评分"“Be the person with embarrassing goals and impressive results instead of one of the many people with impressive goals and embarrassing results.”
评分整本书就一个理论,设定一个很小很小的听起来感觉到很愚蠢的目标,每天轻松完成,把它养出每天必做的习惯,心情好状态好的时候可以多做点,自己会感觉到成就感满满,状态不好完成基本目标就可以,这样也不会因为目标太大完成不了而有内疚感。打三星是因为作者太啰嗦了哈哈哈
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