Do you ever find yourself questioning how someone is so motivated, or long to understand how you will find time in your day to implement healthy habits? You might scroll through your social media and see your contacts exercising regularly, eating healthy or meditating, it may even be a recent or long term goal for you.
Perhaps you have started introducing these healthy habits, but find you lose interest, or start to prioritise other things.
The truth is, our mind is resistant to change. It will choose to stay in our current situation, one that is comfortable, even if it doesn’t truly serve us.
The good news is, we are actually able to trick our mind, or rather rewire our neural pathway connections to be able to stay consistent with our new habits and make them feel so familiar that they become our second nature.
The method that we are just about to share is doing exactly that.
THE TINY HABITS METHOD
This ground-breaking method was created by BJ Fogg, an American scientist who studied human behaviour for 20 years at Stanford University. It is fast and easy to implement and offers a long lasting and positive effect on your life.
How does it work?
If you want to change your behaviour and introduce new and healthy habits, start really small with tiny habits. With time, you will be slowly building a new way of behaving with less resistance and a higher chance of success.
Let’s look at a specific example.
Let’s say that you want to start a regular movement practice. Visit a yoga studio or go to the gym 2 to 3 times a week. It may feel overwhelming and quite difficult to implement at the start.
In this case, your tiny commitments would be trying an online yoga class for 5 to 10 min at home or maybe even rolling your mat out for the first few days and that’s it. It may sound ridiculous, but this is actually how you can rewire your brain and build new behaviours easier. With time, you might extend the virtual yoga session and then one day decide to visit a yoga studio.
At Myall Wellbeing, we have a lot of members who join our virtual classes, which are included in their membership, if they can’t come to the studio. They still keep their healthy routine and jump on the mat, even if it is for 10 min.
Why? Because they built new habits in a sustainable way and their mind and body are already wired for seeking different behaviours that are in alignment with their goal – a consistent movement practice that will make them feel healthier, stronger and happier.
What other tips does BJ Fogg share in his book? And what do we stand behind as well?
GET CLARITY
Be crystal clear on what you actually want to achieve and start from small/tiny steps. Imagine yourself a year from now cultivating this new lifestyle. What does your life look like? How does it feel? Maybe you already cultivate this habit in some ways, so you just need to tweak it.
BRAINSTORM NEW BEHAVIOURS
Think about your current circumstances and many different ways and behaviours that will lead to the desired outcome. Then, prioritise them. Choose the “golden behaviours” that will help you achieve your goal faster and easier. Keep them small though.
For your movement practice, think about your daily routine (when to train?), your environment and location (where to train?) and your resources (how much can I invest?).
SIMPLIFY & PLAN
You don’t want to solely rely on your motivation because it fluctuates a lot. Rather, your aim is to make these behaviours as simple as you can and create a structure. Plan ahead.
In our example this might mean committing to a yoga studio membership that will give you this additional driver to keep you going and pre-booking your yoga classes each week. Remember, consistency is important, not perfection.
CELEBRATE WINS
Make sure to celebrate your wins, even the smallest ones. The sense of accomplishment and gratitude will strengthen the new neural pathways you are building and make you feel amazing.
If you are curious about this method, and you would like to dive deeper into it, we would recommend reading “Tiny Habits. Why starting small makes lasting change easy.” book.
At Myall Wellbeing, we want to support you in building these tiny habits and make your healthy routine a solid foundation of your new lifestyle. And by committing to regular yoga, Pilates or meditation classes, you will be able to enjoy more!
For the month of April we have carefully curated some unmissable offers that will support you on this quest to building tiny habits.
>>> Our IGNITE MEMBERSHIP offers unlimited access to all of our studio and virtual classes, discounts on massage and workshops and free use of all studio amenities (showers, towels, lockers and yoga props) for only $41 a week.
Additionally, if you decide to bring a friend and you both choose one of our memberships, you will enjoy 2-weeks for free.
>>> If you are ready to really commit to yourself, our 6 or 12-month Unlimited Pass are a great option. In April, commit to 6 months or 12 months of your wellbeing, and you will receive an extra month for free and a complimentary Infrared Sauna Session.
>>> Not ready to join the group classes, or wanting a very personal and tailored approach to help you kickstart your habits? Purchase a package of 5 private sessions and receive your 6th for free.
>>> Last but not least, to create a sense of urban retreat with deep relaxation and rejuvenation, enjoy 15% off when you bundle any massage and sauna together.
As we said, our members get more!
HERE you can read a little more about memberships and passes.
We can’t take our health and wellbeing for granted. It is an ongoing journey that should be our main priority. In fact, it is our biggest asset in life. So, let’s think about building our new tiny habits, to create our most desired transformations.
Good luck!
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