Big Changes Start With Small Steps

tip-o-the-morning

Tom Corley boats - crop

The key to habit change is taking small steps. Those small steps get the ball rolling. Eventually those small steps become habits and once a habit is formed it usually sticks around for the long-term.

At least that’s what the latest in habit change science says. So in mid-October I tested this theory. Completely healed from a back injury sustained in mid-2010, I decided it was time to get back into running. So I set a modest goal, at first, to get the habit formed: jog for 15 minutes a day for 1 week. That one week turned into two weeks and then three weeks. One non-work day I felt I could run longer, so I did – 30 minutes. Five weeks later I ratcheted up my 15 minutes to 20 minutes a day, with a few longer runs sprinkled in there on non-working days.

It’s been over two months since I began this habit experiment. I am running 20-30 minutes every day now. I’ve only missed one day of running in December. As a consequence of this new running habit, my weight has dropped from 197 pounds to 184 pounds. The habit is officially formed.

The key to my new habit formation success has been setting the bar low – 20 minutes a day.  But I’ve noticed that once I get out there I find myself wanting to run longer. Keeping the goal small, 20 minutes each run, is definitely the key to forging this new habit. Big changes start with small steps.

Be Sociable, Share!
Thomas C. Corley About Thomas C. Corley

Tom Corley is a bestselling author, speaker, and media contributor for Business Insider, CNBC and a few other national media outlets.

His Rich Habits research has been read, viewed or heard by over 50 million people in 25 countries around the world.

Besides being an author, Tom is also a CPA, CFP, holds a master’s degree in taxation and is President of Cerefice and Company, a CPA firm in New Jersey.
 
Phone Number: 732-382-3800 Ext. 103.
Email Tom
| Download Media Kit

Comments

  1. Well done and Kudos to you Mr Corley.
    I want to use this opportunity to thank you for all your mails to my inbox.
    Seasons greetings and a happy and healthier 2016 to you and family.
    Love Nkiru

  2. Rowlings. Imagine that – an unknown, first-time, self-published author selling more books than J.K. Rowlings! Where did you get this information?

  3. You can definitely see your enthusiasm within the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. All the time go after your heart. “In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from.” by Peter Ustinov.

Leave a Reply to Nkiru Cancel reply

*