Small Habits, Big Changes

Every single choice you make influences your life in some way.

When your choices become ingrained in your daily routine, they end up becoming habits that are hard to change. Our daily choices become a deep part of how we see ourselves and how we live our lives.

We don’t always realize the power behind these choices, because they start off being small and inconsequential. They only grow into something larger and more significant over time. One day you try your first cup of coffee, for whatever reason. Maybe a friend offers it to you, or you’ve watched your parents drink coffee for years, or you feel the need for a boost of energy before school or work. The initial reason doesn’t really matter. Now fast-forward 10 or 20 years, and drinking that cup of coffee is likely something you do without thinking. It’s just a normal part of your morning routine—and you don’t even question it.

Every habit follows a similar pattern. Every habit starts off with a conscious decision (even if it’s just “Hmm, I’ll try that!”), then transforms into something you do because it has become a part of who you are. It’s not conscious. It doesn’t need a reason. You drink coffee every morning because you drink coffee every morning. That’s it.

All habits eventually become self-fulfilling behaviors in this way. That’s why they can be so powerful and so difficult to change. Of course, a habit can be healthy and constructive (such as going to the gym, reading books, or eating healthy foods), or a habit can be unhealthy and destructive (smoking cigarettes, arguing with people, or eating junk food).

Healthy or unhealthy, habits define our lives. They also determine where we are going in life and what waits in our future. Show me a person’s daily routine and I’ll tell you where they are heading in their future life. No, not because I’m psychic, but because our habits always have long-term consequences, positive or negative.

Habits are influential, but they aren’t destiny. We have the power to change our habits if we are armed with the right mindset and tools to help us create long-lasting change in our lives. That’s the goal behind this book: to equip you with the information and techniques to make changing habits simple, easy, and fun.

My approach is focused on making tiny changes.

Why You Need to Think Smaller

When people think about “self-improvement,” they may imagine big changes happening in their lives overnight. People who have never hit the gym before or seen a vegetable on their plate start setting unrealistic goals—“I’m going to start going to the gym seven days a week and only eat kale!”

But how likely is it that they are going to be able to stick with their new goals?

Often when people try making big changes quickly, they soon become stressed, frustrated, and burnt out. Then they snap back to their old patterns. This is exactly why so many people who try to lose weight by following a special diet have a tough time keeping the weight off. They see their diet as a quick, temporary solution to a problem, without understanding the importance of thinking about the longer term.

I believe the key to self-improvement isn’t to think bigger, but to think smaller. This means finding small habits that can build up exponentially over time.

Change rarely happens in one big moment. Change is often slow and gradual.

People fail at so many of their goals because they can’t think small and long-term. They get caught trying to find that one magical solution that will change everything. And then when it doesn’t, they give up on self-improvement entirely. If you’ve ever given up on a goal, it’s likely because you weren’t thinking small enough and thus went back to your former habits when you weren’t able to make the big change you wanted.