Book Review: “Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results”
The book just jumped out at me from “surfing” on Amazon… “Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results” by Stephen Guise. One of his key premises is “Doing a little bit is infinitely bigger and better than doing nothing (mathematically and practically speaking)”. The author proposes that you do something so infinitesimally small on a daily basis that moves you toward your goal, or the habit you wish to acquire, that you CANNOT fail. Here is Mr. Guise’s main example. He wanted to exercise regularly, but dreaded the idea. So he decided he could try just ONE PUSH UP. That’s it- one push up every day. He thought it was ridiculous, but he found he could do it. And his habit grew. He did more than one push-up a day. Now he is close to a gym rat. His theory is that you make the path toward your goal un-failable! Mr. Guise is a writer. One of his other main goals was to write every day. His mini-habit was to write just 50 words a day. (I’ve already written 180 words!) He says that is so easy, it often spills over to hundreds or thousands of words. The point is – the mini-habit is not terrifying. It’s not hard. It creates success and builds a platform to do more. Does it work? I’ll admit, I’ve read about half of the book so far, and have successfully implemented a few mini-habits that are very rewarding! If I miss a day or two, I don’t beat myself up. I’ve made it a fun little game, you see.
One of my new daily habits is to do something outside of my comfort zone, regular pattern of behavior or even defying a small or large fear. Let me give you some simple, and some harder, examples. It’s quick and easy to go through the drive-through at the bank or the pharmacy. Sometimes, instead, I go inside! I talk to people! Wow! It’s not that hard, it’s interaction, it takes longer and it may even be good for business. Here is another example. I may call a For Sale By Owner! That’s really outside my normal pattern of behavior, but guess what – I already got one listing with another on the way. The mini-habit isn’t to list 100 For Sale By Owners within six months. It’s just to do one thing outside my normal modus operandi each day. It may or may not be business related. That part doesn’t matter. When my husband and I were in the store, I wasn’t feeling well, but made a point to say “Hello” to someone I knew, that wouldn’t have noticed if we had just walked by. Typically, that may be something I would do, just get in and out. But I made a point to say “Hello”. Fun, huh? What about doing something “hard” with this mini-habit? Hard may be to pick up the phone to relay unpleasant news instead of sending an email. But just one thing a day – you can handle that, right? Here is another mini-goal I have started, meditating for five minutes a day with breathing exercises. One of my friends taught me to breathe in, filling the belly, hold for a count of seven, then breathe out more slowly, for a count of eight. OK, I admit five minutes is hard for me. I sometimes do three or four minutes. Maybe I should re-make that mini-habit into a one-minute meditation instead?
Here are some mini-habits you could consider, depending on your goals:
1. Drink one glass of water a day
2. Walk to the end of your driveway once a day
3. Read one new word in a foreign language a day
4. Read one page of a book a day
5. Call one friend a day
6. Clean one counter a day
7. Send one hand-written note per day
8. More Mini-habit ideas from the website
Anyway, I can see the usefulness of Stephen Guise’s book and techniques in “Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results”. Perhaps you can apply it to something in your life, too! (And I just wrote over 700 words!)
It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-650-7883 ext 204
Email Wendy:[email protected]
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.
