Tiny Habits
TINY HABITS: THE SMALL CHANGES THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING
Author: BJ Fogg, PhD
My Rating: 9/10
Length: 320 Pages
DESCRIPTION
The world’s leading expert on habit formation shows how you can have a happier, healthier life: by starting small.
When it comes to change, TINY IS MIGHTY. Start with two pushups a day, not a two-hour workout; or five deep breaths each morning rather than an hour of meditation. In TINY HABITS, B.J. Fogg brings his experience of coaching more than 40,000 people to help you lose weight, de-stress, sleep better, or achieve any goal of your choice. You just need Fogg’s behavior formula: make it easy, make it fit your life, and make it rewarding. Whenever you get in your car, take one yoga breath. Smile. Whenever you get in bed, turn off your phone. Give yourself a high five.
Change can be easy—once it starts, it grows. Let B.J. Fogg show you exactly how with Tiny Habits.
The Book In 3 Sentences
People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad.
Want to understand WHY we do any and everything? Well, BJ tells us that we need to understand this simple formula: B = MAP. Behavior happens when Motivation + Ability + Prompt converge at the same moment.
The ABC’s of Tiny Habits: Anchor > Behavior > Celebration
Who Should Read It?
Even if you've read other habit books -- and there are many right now -- you need to read BJ's Tiny Habits if you want to learn a simple, scientifically sound, and reliable way to build new habits, sustain them, and start to make other positive changes in your life.
BJ is THE academic authority on the subject.
BJ's book is so valuable because his work lays the foundation that others have adapted for their self-help books. Think Atomic Habits by James Clear, Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Mini Habits by Stephen Guise just to name a few - yup - they all cite BJ as the main source of research.
If you are someone who likes a logical and no-bs guide to habit/behavior change then you will love this book since BJ is a scientist and teacher, the material is grounded and clear based on facts. Plus it’s a system based on years of research and one has been tested with more than 40,000 people.
How The Book Changed Me
Tiny Habits completely changed how I think about changing habits and behavior.
BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits method gets results quickly. Notably, it makes behavior change remarkably easy - and even fun. Don't let the emphasis on 'Tiny' fool you. It's a truly transformational resource.
Studies show that about 45% of our behavior comes from our habits. BJ Fogg's work provides a way to be more intentional about our habits and design the behaviors we want. You'll learn a valuable life 'master skill' from this book.
What I especially loved about Tiny Habits is that it explains the Tiny Habits method clearly and breaks it down into a three-step actionable process. And it also provides a window into the two decades + of research on a behavioral design that is at the core of it.
The book ALSO has outstanding graphics that show how behavioral design works so you come away with a solid understanding of the key concepts and tools beyond the Tiny Habits method.
My Top 3 Quotes
The essence of Tiny Habits is this: Take a behavior you want, make it tiny, find where it fits naturally in your life, and nurture its growth. If you want to create long-term change, it’s best to start small.” — B. J. Fogg, PhD, Tiny Habits
“We are not the problem. Our approach to change is. It’s a design flaw—not a personal flaw. If our attempts to create this habit don’t work, we will troubleshoot, starting with the prompt. And we won’t blame ourselves for lack of motivation or willpower. What we are doing is all about design—and redesign. If we need to tap into willpower, we are doing it wrong. If we revise the prompt and make the behavior as simple as possible, and we still don’t succeed, we’ll back up and pick a different behavior—one that we actually want to do.” — B. J. Fogg, PhD, Tiny Habits
“Celebration will one day be ranked alongside mindfulness and gratitude as daily practices that contribute most to our overall happiness and well-being. If you learn just one thing from my entire book, I hope it’s this: Celebrate your tiny successes. This one small shift in your life can have a massive impact even when you feel there is no way up or out of your situation. The celebration can be your lifeline.” — B. J. Fogg, PhD, Tiny Habits
Best Big Ideas
Please Note: The following is a collection of highlights taken straight from the book and online resources. Most of them are direct quotes. Some are paraphrases. Very few are my own words.
Motivation Is Not The Answer
A lot of us fall into the trap of relying solely on motivation to force us to do what we want to do (or what other people think we should do). However, BJ talks about the fact that once you build habits, you can do almost anything. Habit building is a superpower.
Motivation runs out quickly, making it an unreliable and unhelpful beast. Instead, we need to focus on systems of behavior design and the emotion we feel when we do a particular action. We need to constantly ask ourselves ‘how could I make this easier.
What Causes Behavior Change
You can change your life by changing your behaviors. You know that. But what you may not know is that only three variables drive those behaviors.
The Fogg Behavior Model shows that three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.
In Tiny Habits, he presents a super simple and equally powerful little diagram to bring the point home. You can find his model here.
The Anatomy Of Tiny Habits
Anchor Moment: An existing routine (like brushing your teeth) or an event that happens (like a phone ringing). The Anchor Moment reminds you to do the new Tiny Behavior.
New Tiny Behavior: A simple version of the new habit you want, such as flossing one tooth or doing two push-ups. You do the Tiny Behavior immediately after the Anchor Moment.
Instant Celebration: Something you do to create positive emotions, such as saying, ‘I did a good job!’ You celebrate immediately after doing the new Tiny Behavior.
The 7 Steps In The Behavior Design Process
Step 1: Clarify the Aspiration. (What do you want to achieve?)
Step 2: Explore Behavior Options. (What can you do to achieve that aspiration?)
Step 3: Match with Specific Behaviors. (What SPECIFICALLY can you do?)
Step 4: Start Tiny. (SUPER tiny.)
Step 5: Find a Good Prompt. (Connect it to something you already do)
Step 6: Celebrate Successes. (Hack your brain’s reward centers immediately and intensely!)
Step 7: Troubleshoot, Iterate, & Expand.
Emotions Create Habit Change
We only do things that make us feel good. Therefore you need to make yourself feel good in order to repeat the behavior. This is the unique element of tiny habits which is the idea of celebration.
BJ proposes we need to celebrate upon completing our new habit. Anything from a smile at ourselves in the mirror to dancing around the living room to hi-fiving your significant other. These celebrations make us feel great, resulting in our brains remembering and associate that great feeling with the habit.
Importantly, the celebration is not an incentive or reward (eg ‘if I work out five times this week, I will go for a massage’). It is critical that the celebration happens IMMEDIATELY after completing the habit action (e.g. straight after flossing your teeth, give yourself a thumbs up) and makes you feel good or successful as a result of doing your new habit.
