Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results

Stephen Guise

Dec 2013 · Selective Entertainment LLC

About this ebook

Discover the Life-Changing Strategy of This Worldwide Bestseller in 17 Languages!

Lasting Change For Early Quitters, Burnouts, The Unmotivated, And Everyone Else Too 

When I decided to start exercising consistently 10 years ago, this is what actually happened: 

I tried "getting motivated." It worked sometimes.I tried setting audacious big goals. I almost always failed them.I tried to make changes last. They didn't.

Like most people who try to change and fail, I assumed that I was the problem.

Then one afternoon--after another failed attempt to get motivated to exercise--I (accidentally) started my first mini habit. I initially committed to do one push-up, and it turned into a full workout. I was shocked. This "stupid idea" wasn't supposed to work. I was shocked again when my success with this strategy continued for months (and to this day).

I had to consider that maybe I wasn't the problem in those 10 years of mediocre results. Maybe it was my prior strategies that were ineffective, despite being oft-repeated as "the way to change" in countless books and blogs.

My suspicions were correct.

Is There A Scientific Explanation For This?

As I sought understanding, I found a plethora of scientific studies that had answers, with nobody to interpret them correctly. Based on the science--which you'll find peppered throughout Mini Habits--we've been doing it all wrong.

You can succeed without the guilt, intimidation, and repeated failure associated with such strategies as "getting motivated," New Year's Resolutions, or even "just doing it." In fact, you need to stop using those strategies if they aren't giving you great results.

Most popular strategies don't work well because they require you to fight against your subconscious brain (a fight not easily won). It's only when you start playing by your brain's rules and taking your human limitations seriously--as mini habits show you how to do--that you can achieve lasting change.

What's A Mini Habit?

A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; its "too small to fail" nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. You will have no choice but to believe in yourself when you're always moving forward.

The barrier to the first step is so low that even depressed or "stuck" people can find early success and begin to reverse their lives right away. And if you think one push-up a day is too small to matter, I've got one heck of a story for you!

Aim For The First Step

They say when you aim for the moon, you'll land among the stars. Well, that doesn't make sense, as the moon is closer than the stars. I digress. 

The message is that you should aim very high and even if you fall short, you'll still get somewhere. I've found the opposite to be true in regards to productivity and healthy behaviors. When you aim for the moon, you won't do anything because it's too far away. But when you aim for the step in front of you, you might keep going and reach the moon.

I've used the Mini Habits strategy to get into the best shape of my life, read 10x more books, and write 4x as many words. It started from requiring one push-up from myself every day. How ridiculous is that? Not so ridiculous when you consider the science of the brain, habits, and willpower.

The Mini Habits system works because it's how our brains are designed to change.

Note: This book isn't for eliminating bad habits (some principles could be useful for breaking habits). Mini Habits is a strategy to create permanent healthy habits in: exercise, writing, reading, thinking positively, meditating, drinking water, eating healthy foods, etc.

Lasting change won't happen until you take that first step into a strategy that works. Give Mini Habits a try. You won't look back.

Ratings and reviews

'Mini habits by Stephen Guise' is helpful enough for specific catagories🧐🧐. But not as good and full-of-techniques as the book i've recently completed : "Roadmap to success by anirban". Very to-the-point and optimised✌️✌️.

Thank you so much for this book! The one and most practical book I've ever read to start my goal into very less stress way strategy. It's incredibly helpful for me a shared experience from the author and some scientifically description how brain works and to divert thoughts to function into action for what I intended for.

Finally someone talking sense. I have unwittingly been using this approach with my son to teach him reading, writing, maths and spelling. So I know it works. Now I understand why and will be applying it to my own life. Thank you, Stephen. Also, very well written, easy to follow, with just enough repetition to ingestion the idea firmly in your mind.

About the author

 Stephen Guise began researching and writing about personal growth strategies in 2004. He founded the award-winning Deep Existence blog in 2011, and in late 2013, he released the international bestselling book, Mini Habits.

Fueled by his passion for personal growth and a penchant for in-depth research and analysis, Guise has developed an array of unconventional, result-driven ideas. In particular, his ideas of extreme willpower conservation, non-motivation-based action plans, multiple-cue habit formation, success-cycling, and "stupid small" steps form the unique foundation of "Mini Habits," which is being published in more than a dozen languages. 

Stephen enjoys minimalism, playing basketball, and exploring the world.