Each month, founder of Cardinal Rule Press, Maria Dismondy, will be reviewing business books she is currently reading. Along with a brief review, she is sharing some of her favorite quotes from the book.

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything

Summary:

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 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.

Maria’s Review:

I am the kind of woman who prefers to cook with a recipe. It tells me what I need and what to do. It takes out a lot of the unknown. This is why I enjoyed this boo, Tiny Habits: Small Changes That Change Everything.

The Recipe for the Tiny Habits Method includes An Anchor Moment–saying “After I…” This is an existing routine in your life that will remind you to do the tiny behavior. Then is the Tiny Behavior, “I will…” this is the new habit you want but you scale it back to be super tiny and super easy. Finally, they say you should wire the habit into your brain with a Celebration (did you see that? ABC Anchor, tiny haBit and Celebration.) I will share with you one way I have worked through the recipe.

After I….fill up my water bottle before heading up to bed.

I will….take my vitamins

I will celebrate by getting into my cozy bed.

The design for stopping a bad habit: List specific habits that are attributes to your general habit. Let’s say the general habit is Eating Too Much Junk Food-specific habits are: buying my breakfast at the gas station, eating a donut during my morning break, etc. Helping to untangle this big general bad habit helps it to feel more manageable. Pick one of these specific habits and get rid of it. One at a time. Use the same prompt to get rid of a habit. After I sit down at work, I will turn off noficiations on my phone and celebrate with a smile.

Top 10 Favorite Quotes:

1. ” Habits may be the smallest units of transformation but they’re also the most fundamental.”
2. “The most profound transformations you’ve read about in this book are not about discrete habits being formed; they are about essential shifts in experience. From suffering to less suffering. From fear to hope. From being overwhelmed to feeling empowered.”
3. “So many frustrating family dynamics and workplace dramas erupt because of the misplaced belief that manipulation motivation is the key to changing behavior. But now you know that simplicity is what reliably changes behavior.”
4. “After you put your feet on the floor in the morning, immediately say this phrase, “It’s going to be a great day.” As you say these seven words, try to feel optimistic and positive.”
5. “Anchors are a list of daily habits.”
6. “When you learn to design and redesign prompts in your life, you’re opening the door to new ways of managing situations that would otherwise distress you.”
7. “What’s the difference between yahoo! and Google? Why does one innovation fade and another take over the world? It’s simplicity.”
8. “The vision of the future may be a few years away , but the good news is that we can start cultivating a culture of change right now.”
9. “The most profound transformations you’ve read about are not about discrete habits being formed, they are about essential shifts in experience.”
10. “By making these shifts, people decided to embrace feeling good and use it as a lever for greater change. They regained control of their lives and discovered what we are capable of making-the small changes that change everything.”

Don’t forget to sign up for Cardinal Rule Press freebies and tips coming right to your inbox with our bi-weekly Newsletter. Sign up today!