Micro Habits That Improved My Life💪

Transforming Life, One Micro Habit at a Time👍

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We live in a world that idolizes instant results and dramatic changes, so naturally, I think this push many of us to set these really ambitious goals.

And I don’t know about you, but if I make a really big goal and I don’t stick to it, I start to lose trust in myself. I start to think I’m the problem, lacking motivation or willpower.

But what if the issue isn’t us?

What if the issue is the method?

Because if there’s anything that I’ve learned, it’s that true progress comes from small daily commitments — the micro habits, just tiny everyday actions that over time compound into significant change.

And so today, I want to share some micro habits with you that have changed my life.

Normally, when people talk about micro habits, they mean flossing your teeth and making the bed — those are great too. But I’m going to talk a little bit more about mindset shifts.

No day zero I’ve gotten into the habit of telling myself no more day zeros. What are day zeros in project management terms? It’s the planning phase before any real action takes place. Like how many times have we told ourselves, “I’ll start my essay tomorrow,” “I’ll start exercising tomorrow,” “I’ll start eating better on Monday”? Even though setting these intentions is great, I feel like it’s those day zeros that are often holding us back.

As Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear, but action breeds confidence and courage.” So, I keep reminding myself, no more waiting for tomorrow when today is already here.

After all, today is yesterday’s promise of “I’ll do it tomorrow.” So even if the day feels like it’s almost over, there’s always time to write one sentence for that essay, do one plank, prep one quick jar of overnight oats. It’s nothing grand, it’s just one thing, but at least one is better than none.

Reframe gratefully

From the time that we were just little children, we’ve been taught to apologize, and of course, do apologize if you’ve done something wrong. But I feel like it’s also become so second nature for us to say sorry for the most trivial things, even when we’ve done nothing wrong.

And I think this is especially true for myself and other fellow Canadians — we’re known for saying sorry for just about everything. But I think over time, it can really start to diminish our self-worth.

And one of my goals these last years has been to try to increase my self-confidence a bit. And one micro habit that’s been helping in that is to shift away from the default apology to instead saying thank you.

So instead of saying, “I’m sorry I’m talking so much,” I’ll say, “Hey, thank you for listening.” Instead of saying, “I’m sorry I’m running late,” I’ll say, “Thank you for waiting for me.”

It’s just so much more empowering. It makes us feel better about ourselves, and it also makes the other person feel valued too. It’s a win-win. And the same thing goes when we’re receiving compliments.

In the past, I used to downplay or brush off compliments, thinking I was being modest. But when someone is offering praise, they’re gifting you with their admiration. And to dismiss it is to downplay yourself and also to refuse someone’s heartfelt gift.

So, the next time someone gives you a compliment, just accept it and say thank you.

Daily Magic

This is probably one of my favorite micro habits. It just makes me so happy. A while ago, I read this piece by an author, Kurt Vonnegut, and he was talking about a simple habit that his uncle, Alex, practiced.

Whenever a good moment would pop up in life’s seemingly routine moments, Uncle Alex would stop and say, “Well, if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” It was his way of grounding himself and cherishing the simple pleasures in life that we often overlook.

And ever since I read that, I’ve gotten into the micro habit of just vocalizing that sentence out loud. So, if I’m working and the sun is just pouring out onto my face, I’ll actually pause to feel it and I’ll say, “If this isn’t life, I don’t know what is.” And I know the original quote says ‘nice,’ but I just like the way ‘life’ sounds better, so that’s what I’ve been saying.

If I’m sipping my first cup of coffee in the morning and it’s just hitting the spot, I’ll say, “If this isn’t life, I don’t know what is.” If I see a beautiful sunset on my way home or if I hear somebody playing beautiful music, you get the idea.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the next big thing that highlighting these little joys has helped me to reconnect with life’s daily magic.

Rethink stress

We’ve all been told our whole lives that stress is bad for us and that we should try to avoid it at all costs, right? But stress is just an inevitable part of life, and I’m the kind of person who, if you tell me not to stress, I’m going to start stressing about the fact that I’m stressing.

And so recently, I listened to this audiobook called “The Upside of Stress.” It’s written by a psychologist, Kelly McGonigal, and it has been life-changing. McGonigal suggests that stress isn’t the real enemy, but our perception of it is. If we believe stress is harmful, it often will be. It’s kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But and this is super cool, by simply reframing how we view stress, we can change the whole biological response. McGonigal shared several studies where, for example, if before an exam student are told that, “Hey, the stress that you’re feeling, it’s actually helpful.

The rapid heartbeat, the quickened breathing, this is all preparing your body for action.” If students were told this, they actually reported that they felt more focused during the exam, and they performed better too.

And this is all just because they were told that stress could be beneficial. And as a result, their bodies acted accordingly. Their blood vessels, instead of constricting, stayed relaxed, anxiety and inflammation in the body decreased, and even helpful hormones were released.

And so, ever since learning this, I’ve tried to get into the micro habit of reframing my stress. Instead of telling myself I shouldn’t feel this, I should calm down, I try to instead channel that energy into making things happen.

Instead of seeing the stress as something that’s hindering me, I tell myself, “You’ve found a challenge, but you’re excited about this, you’ve got this.” It’s a small mindset shift, but it’s been transformative. Stress has gone from being something that consumed and controlled me to now actually being an ally.

React slow

We’ve all had moments where we impulsively react too quickly. Maybe it’s an unexpected comment from a partner, sudden traffic, or a last-minute project change.

How many times have we wished that we just took a little pause before diving headfirst into a response or reaction? We all know that speedy reactions can sometimes lead to misjudgments and missed opportunities to understand the big picture.

So, I’ve been actively trying to create space between receiving information and formulating a response, giving myself permission to digest and just let the information marinate. I’ve gotten into the habit of just taking a deep breath anytime I feel emotionally charged, and it’s almost magical how this simple pause has completely changed the quality of my responses.

I think it’s made my communication a lot more clear, thoughtful, and calm. And I do attribute a lot of this also to having learned about meditation because in meditation, we’re encouraged to acknowledge our thoughts, sit with them, and then let them go without judgment.

And I’m curious to know if there are any mindset shifts or micro habits that you’ve implemented in your life. If you’re willing to share it, I’d love to learn about it, and I’m sure others would as well. So, I’ll see you in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading this, my friends.

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I love you very much. I really appreciate you.