The Power of Tiny Habits

I’ve been reading regularly again. One might even say it’s become a new habit! The book I’m reading right now happens to be Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything, by J.P. Fogg, PhD. I’m only a few chapters in, but I’m excited to keep reading. He shows that with a few tweaks to things you already do, we have the power to make life easier, healthier, and happier. 

What I’m Learning About Tiny Habits

Thanks to the book, I’ve recognized that I have a few great habits already (yay, me!). Some of them I didn’t even realize were habits – like putting my alarm clock out of reach, so I need to get out of bed to turn it off. Of course, I’m becoming more aware of my habits that I don’t like. I already knew that I scroll through my phone way too much, but the book has made it harder to ignore. The videos on Facebook and Instagram are what have been pulling me in, lately. Yes, some are funny or informative, but some are just plain dumb. I get to the end, and think to myself “why did I waste my time on that?”

According to Fogg, all it takes to change is to make a decision right now. I have the power to change my behaviour, and it doesn’t have to be a huge disruption to what I’m already doing. For example, I like watching the videos, but not how much time I’m giving to them. I can decide right now that I won’t watch videos until 8pm. Then, I need to celebrate that small behaviour change to help make the tiny habit stick. 

Celebrate Your Wins

Over the past year, I’ve been encouraging my clients and bootcamp challengers to celebrate their small wins more than ever before. Life is hard enough; we don’t need to be so hard on ourselves! And when you feel good about your little win, you are more likely to keep going. That one little win can turn into a tiny habit, and you just keep going from there. 

Sometimes it can be hard to see the win for yourself, especially when you feel stuck. But there is (almost always!) one there. Here are a few examples:

• There’s the person who’s going through the motions of their workout. The win? They are maintaining their fitness level, and are keeping moving. Celebrate that! And if you want to see a change in results, then you need to change up your workouts. Deciding to make the change is another reason to celebrate, and could create a new tiny habit. 
• When you take an action step to committing to fitness, like signing up for a group class, buying equipment, or doing a fitness challenge, that’s a reason to celebrate, too. You are one step closer to creating a healthy habit.
• Even deciding you want to improve your health or fitness deserves a high-five. After all, there are lots of people out there who aren’t ready to take action.
• And when you “fail”? We all stumble along the way. Like my bootcampers who sign up with the best of intentions but only do two days of the workouts. Since they likely weren’t doing movement before, then two days is a heck of a lot better than one.

Now, I obviously want you to benefit from participating, and I want to help you find a way to make movement a lifelong habit. Celebrating is one way to give yourself grace when you stumble, and to keep you feeling good about continuing. 

Now is the Perfect Time to Decide

Like J.P. Fogg says in his book, you can decide to make a change right now. And Fall is the perfect time! It’s like the universe is giving me a push, because right now I’m listening to a podcast and the speaker just said that September is the second New Year. He calls it the “Back-to Challenge”, because everything is getting started again. It’s back to work, school, and routine. (You can listen to the podcast here.) 

I know a lot of people who said “I’ll start working out again in September”, but then with the frazzled rush of getting back to everything, it’s been put off. That’s okay! Even if you didn’t jump into fitness again on September first doesn’t mean you can’t make the decision to start now, start small, or sign up for something that starts next week. And then, you celebrate! 

Celebrate with Me

This year, I decided to launch my SWM Fall Bootcamp in the last week of September, when life is a little more settled. Join us! We’re doing seven days of Pilates & Strength. You’ll have accountability, community, and celebration the whole way through – and it’s the perfect way to start a new, tiny habit. 

And if you can’t commit this time? Make the decision to join me in January, March, or June. I’ll be here waiting to cheer you on.