Microhabits are daily actions that you design to be so small, short, or easy that you won’t have any excuse not to do them regularly. Sounds super simple, right?
So Where’s The Magic?
Let me show you a real-life example. I used to coach a top corporate lady, we can call her Joanne. Super smart, hitting her goals at work but the price she was paying was on her health. And no matter what, Joanne just couldn’t get herself motivated to start changing her habits about food and exercise. She had all the excuses you can imagine:
- Too busy to even think about it.
- Too tired at the end of the day to go grocery shopping and cook something healthy.
- I worked so hard, I deserve my treat!
- Working too long hours, no time for the gym.
- Nah, I can start with a diet next week.
- … Just fill in the blank for your excuses, the list can go on and on.
At the same time, the picture of her parents started coming to her mind more and more often. She didn’t want to end up like her dad who passed away too early because of obesity-related illnesses, or her mom who was heading in a similar direction.
Joanne had already packed up more kilos than she’d like and it started to impact her self-esteem. She had to go shopping for a bigger size wardrobe and it just didn’t feel right.
She went through a series of diets but you can imagine the result. The yoyo swung right back and she ended up even heavier, more frustrated, and less motivated than she started.
And then Joanne hired me as an expat coach to sort out some of her career and geographical choices. We came across the topic of her health and weight as a segment of her life wheel in our first session. And though it was not the primary objective of our coaching contract, Joanne realized very fast that while preparing to make another life-changing decision about her location and career, her health and overall energy level needed to be addressed at the same time.
How Does It Work?
It’s super simple. Your brain is a target seeking machine. Whatever question you give it, it cannot help itself but look for the answer. Automatically. (That’s why it’s so critical that you manage well your inner critic and negative self-talk, by the way.)
The key question Joanne had to ask herself was:
What health-improving action would be so easy and small that I’d have no excuse but do it every day?
And this is what Joanne came up with on the spot:
- Do 3 squats each time before drinking or eating anything
- Go out and take a 5 min walk each morning and evening
- Put a timer and spend 3 min online to find a quick & tasty recipe to add to my list
Covid just hit in at the time, so she had to work from home full time and these two actions seemed super easy and doable. Joanne was bracing for a full-blown diet and exercise regimen as a result of our session, so leaving *only* with these two bullet points felt like a piece of cake.
Results?
Fast forward 6 months, Joanne lost 2 dress sizes and was almost at her ideal shape. Her confidence was higher than ever, there was no willpower required to keep herself motivated.
Now, was it just these 3 micro habits that did the magic? Of course not, we worked with Joanne’s health further and shifted several aspects of her mindset. As a result, Joanne was able to see and believe that:
- Dieting is an exhausting, time-limited sprint. Long term effects come from a lifestyle that supports your health goals. And that’s a life long, never-ending marathon.
- Health is not a number. Joanne learned to measure and celebrate her progress by how she felt in her body, rather than by stepping on a scale 3 times a day…
- Rather than being driven by fear (I don’t want to end up like my parents) Joanne’s created an inspiring health vision full of great experiences, accomplishments, and benefits that a healthy body brought not only to her life
- Having the long term perspective in mind, she also learned not to beat herself up for little sidetracks that happened from time to time. Before, she would feel guilty, discouraged, upset with herself, and would stop altogether. Now she knew better, gave herself the grace, and got back up on her feet as soon as she could.
It was a lot of deep inner work and it took a lot of courage.
But it all started with the micro habits.
So over to you now.
What are your excuses not to improve the area of your life that’s been bugging you?
What could be your one super easy 1-3 min action you could take from today onwards to turn it around?
Share in the comments, or let us know if you’ve already had success implementing microhabits in the past.
Shine bright,
