Hopefully, former procrastinators, you’re finding as much help for yourself in these reviews of Mini Habits by Stephen Guise as we are finding at our house. We’re super encouraged. These work for now and for the long haul.
My personal biggies are first, that mini habits are pretty much hassle free. It takes so little time and effort to do them. And second, they incorporate the heart and mind. Guise only uses the word “brain.” However, mini habits incorporate the whole person.
From the book:
- The brain resists change. 1) It resists before any action. Therefore the first action must be really easy because that’s the first wall of resistance. 2) The brain resists continued action, but much less so because now you’re in motion.
- See mini habits as your day’s foundation – you MUST do them. Those 1-4 things should take less than ten minutes all together – if you don’t do extra.
- Mini habits are so little the brain doesn’t fight them. When it sounds “stupid,” Guise says your brain is giving the go-ahead. These super small steps slide under the brain’s radar.
- Once you’re going, you have the easy option of doing more. You’ve already slipped into the control room of the basal ganglia. ( Hah! Now you can create and reinforce new patterns.)
- Doing extra is your call. The goal remains the same. If you do more, great. If you do just the goal, great. Even if you only meet the small requirement of a mini habit, it will still become a habit – the perfect foundation for doing more of it.
- Benefits include never having an excuse for failure, never fearing failure, never feeling guilty. (You experience continual encouragement and actual progress – without major hassle.)
- Mini habits are great when you feel you must focus on more than one thing. It’s frustrating to focus on only writing when you want to get in shape too. Tension between your current focus and other areas you want to improve can derail you. Mini habits provide a solution.
- Mini Habits is a guide for self -control. (Think fruit of the Spirit) You learn how your brain works, why motivation fails, and how to manage your will power to make it last.
- Mini habits expand your comfort zone. They’re like walking to the edge of your comfort circle and taking just one step out. At first you may step right back in by doing the minimum requirement. But when you continue to step out, your subconscious gets comfortable and your circle expands. This expansion can permanently change the boundaries of your comfort zone.
- Be patient. This is daily devotion to do the smallest thing in order to make the biggest difference in your life.
One push up? Two pages in a book? One baby carrot? Walk to the end of the driveway? Write 50 words?
How many days in a row have you done your mini habit?
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