One of the greatest hazards in the process of committing to a new self-care practice in your life is giving up too quickly.
Especially since your new practice is for five minutes or fewer. There is a principle that says, “If it’s easy to do, it’s easy NOT to do.”
There are two reasons we stop too quickly.
The first is we forget.
Our amygdala, which is the part of our brain charged with keeping us alive by keeping us safe, fears change.
Any change is viewed as dangerous.
That’s why even such wonderful events as getting married, having a baby, or buying a house, can be the source of great anxiety. Even positive change is alarming to this part of our brain.
One of the tools that the amygdala uses to keep us from the hazards of intentionally trying new things is our forgetter.
And, when we are choosing to do something so small as just five minutes, it is way too easy to just let it slide.
Intentional change is difficult to get started.
Small and doable works because it automatically overcomes the “not enough time” excuse. It also helps guard us from overdoing and creating negativity around what we are trying to accomplish.
The second barrier to continuing until we see an effect is that we will not see the results for a long time.
We think if we’ve been working out consistently for a month that things are going to look radically different. And they don’t. Even if we have the stamina and drive to complete a long workout every day for thirty days, which isn’t likely, we wouldn’t see a profound difference.
Start small and doable, with the intent of slow and steady increments, and in twelve weeks or so you’ll start seeing changes. And they will be subtle.
And over a year, when you keep at it, the changes will be remarkable! They occur so slowly as to be almost unrecognizable day to day. And then one day you look in the mirror and step back. Whoa! That’s me?
Find a way to stick with your micro-habit. You will be so glad you did.
