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3 min read

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Just now

I’m not going to talk about the importance of building habits or the hard work and rock-hard willpower you need to have if you want to succeed (or “suck seed” as King Julian says!), or the gravity of self-discipline. If you’ve clicked on this, you’ve probably already gone through tons of blogs, books, websites, and videos that go, “Self-discipline is the key,” “21 days — kickstart a habit,” or “Ways to improve motivation,” and yet you still haven’t touched those art supplies you bought months ago. Or you’re dreading how you can get anything at all done.

Well, as a ‘Been there, not done that’ person, here’s what worked for me:

Mini Habits — the book by Stephen Guise — is a lifesaver. So this blog is basically a book summary cum lifestyle advice kinda thing. The book says that the two most important things you need to get stuff done are motivation and willpower.

Motivation? Not reliable. Trust me — I’ve tried the hacks. None of them worked. But the secret ingredient to building habits that stick? Willpower.

But isn’t that the same as motivation? No. Here’s why: motivation is emotion-based and fluctuates constantly, while willpower is a skill. One that can be trained. And the thing with willpower is that it can be developed slowly and steadily, with little to no effort on a daily basis. It’s more like a micro-investment scheme with almost zero risk than a flashy self-improvement plan.

Simple! You just do the bare minimum but consistently. One push-up. Write one sentence. Read a single paragraph. Something so tiny your brain can’t object. Seems pretty easy, right?

The trick is to strengthen your willpower muscle so that it can bypass resistance and build consistency. Progress happens naturally because once you start, you usually end up doing more than the minimum anyway.

Can’t find the motivation to work out for 20 minutes? Then start with one. One single minute a day. It’s achievable, simple — ridiculous even! But don’t let that hurt your pride. This is where you believe in the magic of trusting the process.

Don’t overthink it or overwhelm yourself. Just do something tiny every day, no matter what.

The effectiveness of Mini Habits is grounded in neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize synaptic connections in response to experience and repetition. Each time a behavior is performed — especially in a consistent context — it activates specific neural circuits. And according to Hebbian learning (“neurons that fire together wire together”), repeated co-activation of these circuits strengthens them.

With repetition, your actions shift from something you have to push yourself to do into something automatic — like brushing your teeth. This happens because the brain begins storing the behavior in areas that handle habits, like the dorsal striatum, instead of the parts responsible for motivation and decision-making. (Yes, that’s the science-y name for your brain’s autopilot.)

Mini Habits work because they create the perfect conditions for your brain to build these automatic pathways — without needing tons of effort, motivation, or emotional energy.

Start small. So small it feels silly.

Do one push-up. Write one sentence. Walk for one minute.

You’re not trying to win a race — you’re just showing up. That’s the magic. You don’t need a dramatic life overhaul or a surge of motivation. Just make it so easy that your brain has no excuse.

And trust me, that’s where the real shift begins — not in intensity, but in consistency.

If you’re tired, human, and feeling a little hopeless about getting your life together… Welcome to the club. Mini habits won’t fix everything overnight, but they will get you moving — and that’s the start of everything.