Change your life sustainably with Mini Habits
Are you also the type of person who sets big goals at the end of the year and (once again) fails to achieve them? More than 70 percent of people are like you. They fail to implement their good intentions in the long term. With this simple and very effective method, the Mini Habits, you can be one of the people who make a lasting positive change to their habits - with just one minute's effort every day.
Why do good intentions fail?
The majority of people who set themselves New Year's resolutions quickly fail to achieve them. The reasons for this are:
- Too many resolutions at once, which you want to tackle when you are most motivated. It makes more sense to make just one resolution and implement it gradually.
- Unrealistic goals: Even if we sometimes have big dreams, we will not be able to realize all of them directly. Instead, set yourself small goals that will bring you closer to the big goal.
- Too little stamina: researchers have found that it takes up to 66 days for habits to become automatic. However, many people often lose motivation much earlier.
Every time you have to break a new resolution, it is incredibly demotivating. So what can you do if you want to make lasting changes to your life? The key is to integrate the changes into your life step by step. So-called mini habits help you to get a lot closer to your goal with as little effort as necessary.
What are Mini Habits?
Mini habits, micro habits or tiny habits (after the US behavioral scientist BJ Fogg from Stanford University) are small habits that you establish in your everyday life until they trigger a lasting positive change.
These small habits are so low-threshold that it will hardly take you any effort to do them. Do you want to learn a new language, for example? Then learn just one word a day. Do you want to get fitter? Then do two push-ups a day.
Mini Habits have a lasting effect and consolidate habits for long-term change in small steps.
Changing lives with Mini Habits
The good news is that this exercise requires very little time - depending on how much you are willing to give. Just one minute can help to establish new habits or break old ones. One downside is that it is not possible to give up smoking with this method, but you can use it to become fitter in everyday life, experience more mindfulness or learn a new language.
One minute every day for 66 days
The important thing is that you make this small change for one minute or a certain number of repetitions every day. And that for 66 days.
Researchers believe that it takes this long for habits to become established in the mindset. You will quickly become more motivated and gradually want to improve yourself.
Link Mini Habit with trigger/routine
The trick behind this method is that you only choose a small unit that is easy to do in the first place and that you link your Mini Habit to a trigger, a routine that is familiar to you, which makes it easier for you to establish the new habit.
Examples of Mini Habits
"I do two press-ups every morning after getting up."
"After showering, I close my eyes and take three conscious breaths."
"I go for a walk every day after lunch."
"I read one page every evening after the daily news."
"After arriving at the office, I drink a large glass of water."
"Before I go to bed, I think of one thing I was grateful for today."
Repetition is important here. The behavior becomes automatic and you can gradually increase the intensity.
As humans are creatures of habit, you will soon stick to this new habit - in the long term and with success.
Exercise: Implement mini habits successfully in one minute
- Think about a goal and what you are prepared to do to achieve it, e.g. "get fitter", "3 sit-ups a day".
- Choose which established habit you would like to link the exercise to, e.g. "After breakfast I do three sit-ups a day".
- Do the exercise for one minute, for example, or with very few repetitions.
- Repeat the exercise every day from now on.
- Increase the units or the volume as you feel comfortable.
You will see that you will want to increase the repetitions all by yourself. Have fun doing it!
Health impulses with our 5-minute exercises
Our 5-minute exercises give you ideas for more relaxation, balance, activity and feel-good moments in your everyday work and private life. They are not a substitute for professional help from counselors and psychologists. Please seek professional advice, for example from pmeLebenslagencoaching, if you feel permanently depressed, have persistent excessive stress or deeper mental problems.
