How to win BIG by working small - Part II

Before I say a word, I have to apologise and explain why I couldn't post this article earlier. So here is the story. Just before Covid-19 hit Paris, I flew to Rome in the first week of March in urgency to see my extended family. Although the situation in Italy was scary, I somehow found the courage in me to see them before returning to India, to my parents.

As soon as I got here, I put myself in isolation for 3 weeks and before I could come out to see my friends and family, the virus had taken over and India went under lockdown. Besides hurting me professionally, the Covid-19 hit me personally as well, just like many others, but I was still grateful that I could be with my parents. Now, although the situation hasn't improved much, I have found my rhythm again and that's why I am here today to pick up from where we left the last time. I thank you all for understanding and genuinely hope that each one of you is safe, even if your life has been impacted significantly by the pandemic.

With that out of the way, let's jump into the next steps. So the last time you were here, you might recall that I spoke about Identifying Your Daily Habits on a paper and grading them as good or bad based on what success means to you. Now, assuming that you have done that, the next step would be to -

1. Add things you want to start doing
2. Eliminate things you want to stop doing
3. Increase the frequency of good habits
4. Reduce the frequency of bad habits

Although these changes can be considered at the same time, given that all of us don't have the same willpower, we should start by picking one element at a time.

Adding Things You Want to Start Doing

There are many things we wish to do in life but somehow never happen to find the time, motivation or knowledge to motivate ourselves. And that's OK.

According to a theory proposed by Professor BJ Fogg,

B = MAT...I mean, Behavior = Motivation, Action and Trigger at the same time.

Here's an example to better understand how it works -

Let's assume that you have wanted to be healthy for a long time and one of the ways of getting there would mean to start exercising every day for 30 - 45 minutes. Should you subscribe to a fitness membership right away or make a pact with your running group? No, behavioural science tells us that it's a bad idea.

For any new habit to be fully integrated into your lifestyle, it must feel rewarding to your brain. So start by doing the activity with the lowest resistance from your brain. A 30 minute round sounds daunting for a non-runner but everyone can run for 2 minutes.

My Final Thoughts

• Choose a time when you are most likely to think about your health (It could be right after you wake up or before you go to bed in the evening)
• Start by running 2 minutes every day. It can go from 2 to 5 but don't go beyond 10 minutes, initially (Remember frequency counts more than the duration)
• Every time you come back from a run, allow yourself to take a small bite of your favourite snack (Keep in mind that whatever you prefer to have as a snack, like dark chocolate or cookie, you can only allow yourself to have it after your running session. NO RUNNING MEANS NO COOKIES)

You can use this two-minute method for whatever habit you want to add to your lifestyle. It could be reading a book, writing an article, playing the guitar or connecting with old friends. Apply it to your life immediately and see yourself winning BIG by working small ??

Let me tell you that I can't wait to take you to the next part of this series but first, I am curious to learn your feedback. Like always, if you enjoyed reading this article or it has helped you clear your thoughts in any way, I would request you to share it with your friends and family so that together we can all make a meaningful difference in the world. If you have any questions or feedback concerning this article or just feel like dropping by for a positive chat, write to me on personal chat or reach out via email at [email protected]