Tiny Habits By BJ Fogg PhD

Description

Most of us try to change by using raw force, making big resolutions, or just willpower, which makes it challenging. Stanford behavior scientist BJ Fogg uses the simple but powerful idea that “small is mighty” to shift the way we think about how to make genuine change in Tiny Habits. Fogg introduces the Tiny Habits® Method, a three-step recipe Anchor > Tiny Behavior > Celebration that rewires your brain through repeated micro-wins and positive reinforcement. He based it on decades of rigorous research and tests with over 40,000 students.

1. Change your habits, change your mind

Fogg starts by breaking down some popular beliefs about building new habits, like that you need a lot of motivation, a lot of self-control, or a great strategy. He talks about the Fogg Behavior Model (B = MAP), which says that a behavior only happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt all come together. You can avoid the willpower trap and create the stage for automatic recurrence by making a desired action smaller until it’s almost too easy (raising Ability) and linking it to a trustworthy prompt from your daily life.

2. The Recipe for Small Habits

Fogg leads you through his famous recipe in the middle of the book:

Anchor Moment: Find a habit that you do every day, like pouring your morning coffee, closing your laptop at night, or hanging up your outerwear at the door. This is what sets you off.

Small Action: Make your goal habit smaller, such doing one push-up, taking two deep breaths, or flossing one tooth. This small step will make sure you succeed right away, even on your busiest days.

Instant Celebration: As soon as you finish the small task, rejoice in a way that means something to you, such saying “Yes!” out loud, pumping your fist, or smiling in your head. This activates the brain’s reward system, which releases dopamine and makes the new behavior stick.

You use guided exercises and reflection prompts to create Recipe Brainstorms that come up with dozens of small habit ideas, help you deal with typical problems (such skipping days or low motivation), and show you how to make habits fit into any lifestyle.

3. Changes in the real world

Fogg doesn’t simply talk about theory; he also gives inspiring stories of people who have used Tiny Habits to get amazing results:

A mom who was too busy to brush one tooth per night and then floss and rinse.

An engineer who turned “one push-up” into a daily strength workout that got him to do a complete 50 push-ups in a few months.

A stressed-out executive who took two deep breaths after every meeting to calm down and stay focused.

4. Growing and adding to habits

Fogg tells you how to build on your small habits once they are set in stone: Slowly raise the dose or level of difficulty two push-ups become five, two breaths become a one-minute mindfulness session always building on what you’ve already done. He also talks about problems like habit decay, celebration fatigue, and habit stacking, which is when you combine several small habits to get more rewards.

5. Making plans for success

Fogg looks at how to transform settings and social situations to help people change their behavior, in addition to looking at individual behaviors. He gives tips on how to:

Making habit contracts with people who will hold you accountable

Smart use of digital reminders and app interventions

Using help from family and friends to boost motivation

Staying away from frequent mistakes like overplanning or being a perfectionist

6. The Kindness-First Way of Thinking

Self-compassion is a big part of Fogg’s method. He says that “imperfect practice” should be celebrated, and that failures should be seen as data for improvement and curiosity should be kept alive. This perspective of putting kindness first keeps shame from getting in the way of development and keeps transformation going for a long time.

By the end of the book, you’ll have put together a Tiny Habits Starter Kit that includes your own recipes, troubleshooting flowcharts, and ways to keep going. Tiny Habits shows that the smallest efforts, when recognized regularly, may lead to the biggest breakthroughs. Whether you want to start meditating, finish that book, be in better shape, or spend less time on your phone, these are all good goals. Accept the power of small actions and see how they build up to make a big change.

About the Author

BJ Fogg, PhD is the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. His groundbreaking research on the Fogg Behavior Model and Tiny Habits Method has influenced product design, health interventions, and social campaigns worldwide. Fogg has advised organizations from startups to Fortune 100 companies and continues to teach behavior design through workshops and online courses.

Product Details

• Title: Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything

• Author: BJ Fogg, PhD

• ISBN-13: 9780358003323

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• Published: December 29, 2020

• Pages: 272

• Binding: Paperpack