Author: Kristiina Kivimäe
Personal growth can often feel overwhelming because of high expectations from ourselves, friends, family, or social media. Usually, it's because we want to achieve big goals or transform our lives fast. Thus, to achieve something big, it is useful to cut it into small steps, which can help to reach the goal. One of the best-proven ways to have sustainable personal growth is through micro habits. This blog post will discover micro habits, why they work so well, and how to implement them into our daily lives.
What are micro habits?
Micro habits are tiny actions that can be added to our daily lives. They are simple things, for example making our bed every day after waking up or brushing our teeth two times a day. Their simplicity is what makes them transformative because it enables leveraging consistency. Besides, the fact that these actions are simple makes them more adaptable than high effort habits. For example, working out in a gym for one hour three times a week can be resisted more easily than actions that need a small amount of time and effort. Therefore, starting with tiny micro habits can be the key to establishing big goals that require high effort habits.
How do micro habits work scientifically?
Every thought we think and action we make is related to the neural pathways in the brain. Neural pathways are the connections between our brain cells that are called neurons. Additionally, when we are developing a new routine, the neural pathway is not strong, which means that it takes a lot of effort to accomplish something. But when we are consistent and repeat the activity, it becomes easier for us. That is because repeating the same process again and again reduces cognitive effort and strengthens neural pathways. Besides, completing the action releases dopamine, which makes us happy and proud of ourselves. Therefore, micro habits can make us experience a sense of achievement. That is also the reason why micro habits are long-lasting and can lead to notable results.
How to implement micro habits in our lives?
Firstly, to apply micro habits to our lives, it is recommended to start with easily adaptable actions. For example, meditating for one minute during a coffee break. This meditation can be active, like walking in nature, or more inactive, like sitting in a comfortable seat and focusing on our breath. Secondly, it is beneficial to apply the 2-minute rule to our lives. This rule means that one should do all the tasks that can be completed in under two minutes in the beginning and then the ones that require more time. Thirdly, it is suggested to add new habits to the existing ones. For example, listening to educational podcasts while walking to the store or work. Fourth, it is proposed to track the progress and celebrate small wins. For instance, using a journal or apps that help to track the journey can keep us more motivated. Lastly, sharing our journey with our loved ones and being grateful for being able to change our lives help to keep us motivated and enjoy the progress.
Which challenges may be experienced when starting to implement micro habits?
When starting with micro habits, one can experience inconsistency, lack of motivation, or disruptions from the external. These are completely normal experiences, and its known that making a change needs effort. Besides, there are a lot of ways to get over these challenges. For example, when experiencing inconsistency, one can make the habits as automatic as possible. Also, it seems normal that most people brush their teeth in the morning and eat breakfast. Moreover, if we try to make our habits as normal as these activities, they can become part of our daily lives more easily. It could be cleaning our room before going to sleep, journaling, drinking water, or adding some fruits and vegetables to our meals. For lack of motivation or external disruptions, it might be beneficial to focus on long-term benefits.
What are the benefits of micro habits?
Micro habits can lead to transformative results, minimize the fear of failure, increase flexibility, and exchange overall well-being. Additionally, by implementing micro habits into our lives, we can get step by step closer to our greater goals. This could be waking up earlier, reading more, being more active, or connecting more with our close ones. The simplicity of micro habits and starting small can minimize the fear of failure because the steps are small and easy to achieve compared to high-effort habits. Besides, starting with small new habits can make us more flexible and adjustable for changes and growth. Lastly, applying healthy habits in our lives helps to increase our well-being, improve our self-esteem, and relieve stress.
Conclusion
Micro habits are one of the best ways to create change in our lives and achieve long-term goals. Moreover, it is scientifically proven that micro habits help us to get closer to our greater goals because they strengthen neural pathways, which help us to feel a sense of achievement and make us more motivated. Furthermore, to start with new habits, it is recommended to begin small, pair habits with routines we already have, share our journey, and celebrate small victories. When experiencing challenges while implementing micro habits in our lives, it is suggested to automate the habits, prioritize consistency, and focus on long-term benefits. In conclusion, micro habits are helping us to enhance flexibility and overall well-being, get closer to our long-term goals, and create sustainable personal growth.
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