A Zumba® workout is Tiny Habits® set to music.
By Val McKinley
Val@PrioritizeHabits.com, IG:@lifecoach_Val
🎶Energy 🎶Movement🎶Momentum🎶Celebration
After I’m introduced to new vocabulary words, I will look them up. Then I’ll say, “I’ve just learned something new!” Zumba? Tiny Habits? Celebration? Let me define them for you.
Zumba® is Tiny Habits® Set to Music: An aerobic fitness program featuring movements inspired by various styles of Latin American dance and performed primarily to Latin American dance music. Zumba is an interval workout. The classes move between high-and low-intensity dance moves designed to get your heart rate up and boost cardio endurance.
Tiny Habits® : A “Tiny Habit” is a behavior you do at least once a day, takes you less than 30 seconds, and that requires little effort. Take a behavior you want to start doing and make it tiny. Find where it naturally fits in your life and nurture its growth.
Tiny Habit recipes are made up of an anchor moment, a new tiny behavior, and an instant celebration; A-B-C! After I…, I will B. Then, Celebrate!
Celebration: A way to tell ourselves that we’ve done a good job. When we celebrate, we fire off positive emotions. Celebration helps us achieve; to go beyond the minimum requirements. It’s how we wire in behavior and make it automatic. Celebration can be physical movement, music, phrases, visualization, or sound effects.
After my pre-Zumba timer goes off, I will pick up my workout clothes. Then, I’ll say, “I feel like dancing!”
The other day I realized why I was so attracted to both Zumba and Tiny Habits. They are both positive pursuits that have so much in common. No wonder I keep going back for more!!
In Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg explains that feeling good and feeling like you’re making progress are essential to growth and happiness. Bingo! Embedding many new Tiny Habits into my life over these last two years has definitely caused me to feel good about myself and the choices I’m making in my life. Zumba invigorates me. I’m making progress when I add arm movements to the footsteps. If the routine gets a bit complicated, I choose one part of my body to focus on and do that part.
After I master the leg movement, I will add part of the arm movement, and celebrate by saying “Yes!”
After I complete one dance without one pound weights, I will pick up my weights to do the next dance with them and celebrate by saying “That feels good!”
When we plant tiny habits, we keep the behaviors in our recipes very tiny for the days we don’t feel like doing much. On days we feel like doing more, we grow the behavior. After we do the behavior, we celebrate. This wires in the habit more quickly. For me, the celebration during Zumba is the music! It is an ongoing element that creates positive emotion and wires in the accompanying body movements almost effortlessly.
After I put my purse down at Zumba, I will put my earplugs in and say “I’m ready to move!”
After I start to chide myself for not getting all the moves down right away, I will look around at those who have had a stroke, brain surgery, or are overweight and will tell myself that showing up is the important thing. I’ll celebrate by saying “I am a person who practices self-care.”
After I berate myself for not getting all the moves, I will say to myself, “Be Kind!” and celebrate by saying “I’m proud of myself for showing up today.”
After the music starts, I will express gratitude for this day by focusing on the way my body moves to the music. The music is my celebration!
After Zumba class, I will appreciate the positivity and camaraderie of the participants that I witnessed that hour. I’ll celebrate the experience.
Because Zumba is something I want to do, I feel I am making progress almost effortlessly. So it is with the habits that I have successfully planted in my life. These include: getting out of bed and expressing gratitude for the day, making my bed, doing the starter step of a plank, stretching while waiting for my water to heat in the microwave, choosing a job stick when I feel overwhelmed, and writing in my Gains journal every night after getting into bed.
The above habits all involve complex sequences of steps, just like the steps in Zumba. I have been able to incorporate complex sequences because I have started tiny and added to behaviors when I wanted to; thereby gaining confidence and success momentum over time. If I ever feel overwhelmed by emotions/life, I can always do the tiniest step to keep the behavior planted in my life. I am still remaining true to myself.
Lastly, both the Tiny Habits and Zumba communities embrace diversity! The groups share core values of acceptance, happiness, joy, enthusiasm, positivity and fun! Participation in either guarantees to be judgment free, to meet you where you’re at, to allow you to proceed at your own pace, and to help you do what you want to do!!
I encourage you to explore a form of movement that you enjoy-mine just happens to be Zumba- and the Tiny Habits Method. I hope that they hold the same attraction for you as they have for me.
If you’re looking for some ideas for habit recipes, I offer a few suggestions below. Self-love is such an important foundation for creating a life you want to live in. Some recipe examples* to habituate self-love:
*Don’t forget to add your own celebration
For more from Val McKinley, see her Tiny Habits course Creating Calm Within.
Check out other Tiny Habits Academy blog articles today.
Interested in becoming a Tiny Habits Certified Coach? Learn more today at www.tinyhabitsacademy.com/certification.
by Teena George
Hi there! Let’s start with a quick round of Two Truths and a Lie.
Here goes –
I have:
Which statement do you think is a lie?
If you guessed two as the answer, you’re right!
GIF source: https://giphy.com/
You may be thinking that the other two statements are just as unbelievable. I agree with you. However, reading them gives you at least some idea of how seriously I used to take my work.
I cringe now as I write this. However, at the cost of my health, an earlier version of me is guilty of:
And as we say about Tiny Habits: “Tiny changes, big results.” So it is with seemingly small bad behaviors that we have. They compound over time and lead to life-impacting changes. For me, continuous stress coupled with long hours at work and consistently neglecting my health resulted in me getting diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. (If this is the first time you’ve heard this term and want to know more, I’ve shared a link at the end of the blog.)
They’re right when they say, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Frequent unannounced dizziness, a symptom of Meniere’s, helped me understand and appreciate that GOOD HEALTH IS THE ONE THING ON WHICH EVERYTHING ELSE DEPENDS.
Come to think of it, if you have good health you can invest your time and effort to build and strengthen your relationships, perform optimally at work, achieve your goals, make your dreams come true, and contribute to the greater good by helping others. Needless to say, your ability to do any of this becomes limited when your health suffers.
I am grateful that I got Meniere’s Disease when I did because it made me pause and re-evaluate my priorities, and it helped me start taking better care of my health. As of today, Meniere’s is an incurable disease and it’s progressive. So, while the symptoms do show up uninvited every once in a while, the three habits outlined below helped me manage Meniere’s and find my way back to good health.
It goes without saying that you don’t need to have Meniere’s or any other ailment to start any of these. They’ll benefit anyone.
1. Gratitude: Being grateful for what I have, focusing on what I can do as opposed to what is out of bounds for me, and counting my blessings have helped me from going on a downward spiral.
Image source: https://www.azquotes.com/
2. Exercise: While the variety of exercises I can do are limited, I have managed to lose 8 kilos and keep it off (something I struggled with for almost seven years.)
Image source: https://awesomeatyourjob.com/
3. Meditation: Meditating has helped me stay calm when I get anxious or overwhelmed. It has helped reduce the instances of Meniere’s attacks and generally changed my earlier perception that meditation is only for those with monk-like focus.
Image source: https://twitter.com/
These three practices are proven ways to build and sustain good health. I go into the details in my Uplift Your Well-being with Tiny Habits course.
Here are Three Tiny Habits® Recipes to get you started with these powerful practices:
Like these Tiny Habits Recipes? Download them here.
Which of the three (gratitude, exercise, meditation) are you already doing daily?
Which of the three do you want to start?
If you:
join my Uplift Your Well-being with Tiny Habits course featuring Dr. BJ Fogg and his colleague + my fellow Tiny Habits Certified Coach, Stephanie Weldy.
Image source: https://www.azquotes.com/
You can read more about Meniere’s Disease here.
Contributor: Teena George
Connect with me at:
Website: https://www.habitsandmindsets.com/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/teena-george1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/habitsandmindsets/
Check out other Tiny Habits Academy blog articles today.
Interested in becoming a Tiny Habits Certified Coach? Learn more today at www.tinyhabitsacademy.com/certification.
When 95% is Not Better Than 0%
By Val McKinley
We usually think that more is better, but in reality, more isn’t always better. In the world of behavior change, we encourage ourselves and others to do 1% better than the day before. The 1% adds up over time and voila; before we know it, the things that were hard for us or that we had resisted doing, get done. We feel good. Success momentum propels us forward…
Until it doesn’t. I thought I was leading my best life, traveling between grandchildren, and I had created a portable coaching business and was enjoying the interaction with clients. Over the last two years I had consistently practiced making healthy food choices; also integrating a lot of movement and self-care practices into my daily routine. My husband is a loving partner and I have an amazing social network of family and friends.
So why am I writing this and what does this have to do with Tiny Habits? Last week after a visit with my family in VA, I was scheduled to fly back home to San Diego. That morning, after experiencing yet another two episodes of gastro discomfort which had escalated in frequency and intensity, I was extremely hesitant to get on an airplane. In the midst of not knowing which way to turn, I had an epiphany…’Call Will!’ I had been so preoccupied with my indecision and where to turn, that I had forgotten to ask for help. Help for me was the idea to call Will, my nephew who’s a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in MN. After he’d listened and synthesized all that I told him, he said that I should not fly, but instead take a taxi to the nearest cardiac hospital which he had determined would give me the best care based on the symptoms I presented.
My intuition and call to my nephew probably saved my life. Within 24 hours of admission, I was in surgery during which a stent was placed in my left anterior descending artery – best known as the Widowmaker. It was 95% blocked! Little did I know that a stroke can be a complication of this procedure.
As soon as I saw my daughter in the recovery room, I knew that something had gone wrong. I had never experienced coming out of anesthesia with the types of symptoms I was experiencing. My vision was totally out of whack. Every move caused vertigo and/or dizziness. I felt so out of control and very frightened. I was soon taken in for a CAT scan, which I later learned was to determine the type of stroke I had experienced.
When a doctor came in the next morning and asked how I was doing I said, “Not good!” He said, bless his heart, “We’re on this!” I went through a myriad of emotions; sadness, pity, tears, and fear to name a few. Questions such as, “Is this my new normal? How will I do what I love to do? Will I be able to hold my grandbaby?” etc., raced through my mind. Several abilities once taken for granted had suddenly been swept out from under me. Talk about being thrown for a loop – literally and figuratively!
This is where Tiny Habits came to the rescue. I know tiny is transformative. I know that self-confidence is the by-product of doing what I say I will do. When I celebrate the behaviors I have planted in my life, my body releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin. This process wires in the habits that I want to achieve more quickly. Action is the catalyst of long-term change. Because I’ve developed the skills of change over time, I knew I could start taking control of my life.
I was told specialists would not be coming to evaluate me until the next day. However, I knew that for me, waiting was not an option. I had a pity party and cried and was sad. Then, after a few minutes, I told myself to come up with one thing I could do to help myself heal as I was seeing double and was extremely dizzy. The recipes were: After I put a patch on one eye, I will set the timer for ten minutes. I celebrated. After the timer goes off, I will change the patch to the other eye. I celebrated. Repeat…By planting the seed of change that day, I felt empowered. I felt hopeful. I felt that I was doing something to move forward in my healing. Step-by-step, little by little.
Note: For women reading this, or men who have women in their lives, please know: The classic symptoms of a heart attack are different in women!! Even if you have no family history of cholesterol problems, have your cholesterol checked. If you don’t feel like yourself, trust yourself. Address your health symptoms until a root cause is found. Good luck. Be well!
Update: I was in rehab at the hospital for a week and then went to my daughter’s for a week. I was cleared to fly back home to CA at the end of the second week. Two habits that I continued to do post stroke were a modified hospital version of the Maui habit upon awakening and my bedtime habit of After I get in bed, I will write my gains for the day and write 3 things I hope to accomplish the next day. And then I celebrated!
I am a firm believer that maintaining a routine helped keep negativity at bay as I continued to heal.
A few weeks after arriving home, I started going to Zumba again. It’s my favorite form of movement. I knew that the full hour of spinning and quick movements would be too much, so my modification was, During my ½ hour of Zumba, I will walk the steps and look forward. Then celebrate that I was back! Over the next few weeks, I slowly started increasing my time in class, adding head movements and turns as long as I maintained my orientation.
Two months in, I got to start driving again! Yea! I have been in the company of my granddaughter in the last few weeks, getting to hold her and take care of her as before. Life is good! I feel so blessed to be back to my former self.
Best wishes,
Tiny Habits Certified Coach
Course Creator: Tiny Habits for Green Light Living—Using Emotional Regulation as a Catalyst for Action
Imagine you’re at the Olympics. The crowds are cheering, but you’re not among them. You’re down on the field, crouched at the starting line, poised for the race that may define your career.
No doubt you’ve trained for this moment for most of your life, but how would you prepare for it on the morning of the big day? If you were looking to accomplish something monumental, would you begin by hitting the snooze button until you were running late, grab whatever breakfast came to hand, then rush into the fray distracted and without a plan?
A Strong Start for a Strong Finish
Runners know that the morning of a big race is crucial, and they leave nothing to chance. All-State Conference track and Olympic distance triathlete Maria Serrata explains, “When that alarm goes off and you want to sleep in another hour, you can’t. No matter how much you’ve prepared, the things you do the morning of are critical. They will make or break your race.”
Whether you’re an Olympic runner, an adventurer setting out to ascend Mt. Kilimanjaro or a busy mom with a mountain of laundry to summit, the way you start your day can have a huge impact on whether you meet your goals or fall short. The Tiny Habits for Moms team offers these tips for creating a morning routine that will prime you to accomplish whatever you choose to pursue.
There’s one more piece of advice that applies to star athletes and moms alike: Figure out what works for you and do it every day. “My friend eats pop tarts before every run. After a race I drink a Sprite. Listen to your body and do what works best for you,” says Serrata.
However you choose to structure your morning, do it with the same focus and intent as a runner preparing for the Olympics, with the understanding that by starting your day focused and strong you’ll set yourself on the path to achieve your goals and do amazing things.
To learn more about how to achieve your goals by creating habits that work for you, join our next session of Tiny Habits for Moms.
If 5 Ways to Improve Your Brain Health in Under 30 Seconds inspired you to care more for your brain in the coming year, click here to learn about our course, Tiny Habits for Brain Health. If you’re ready to plant some new seeds today, try one or more of the habits below.
These habits may seem simple, but don’t be deceived. Every one of these actions can have lasting long-term effects when they become a part of your everyday life. But you don’t have to wait until your senior years to reap the benefits. The habits that support long-term brain health will also help you to feel healthier and happier while you’re still young. For information on our brain health course, click here.
Like a thriving coral reef, a healthy brain is the product of millions of tiny units and connections. Every minute of the day you’re making choices that either strengthen that network or tear it down. Exercise, sleep and a nutritious diet have a big impact on brain health, but many brain-boosting behaviors take less than a minute a day.
Over time, these small acts can make a big impact on your brain health. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our groundbreaking new course, Tiny Habits for Brain Health. This course combines the Tiny Habits method with powerful, practical recipes for keeping your brain sharp now and throughout your life.
by BJ Fogg, PhD
I’ve been focusing a lot on the power of “starter steps.”
“What’s that?” you ask.
Well, a starter step is the first step in a longer sequence of behaviors. For example, opening your sketchbook is a starter step in drawing a picture. Putting on your gym clothes is a starter step for working out. Setting an apple on the kitchen counter is a starter step for eating it.
When you think of the bigger behavior, the ultimately behavior you want — drawing a picture or working out — you might find yourself resisting. It’s odd, but I’ve heard from lots of people about this resistance. Even though they sorta wanted to do the behavior (workout), something inside them resisted it at the moment of truth. Their brain finds excuses. Starter steps don’t seem to invoke this kind of resistance. You just put on your gym clothes. No big deal.
Some people report that they trick themselves with starter steps (I’ve done this too): For example, people tell themselves, “okay, I’ll put on my gym clothes, but I’m not really going to workout.”
And guess what happens?
Surprisingly often people go all the way. And that’s the magic –> With starter steps you overcome your initial resistance, and once you’re started on the path, you just keep going.
I’m a fan of designing for starter steps. Some of my own Tiny Habits are starter steps.
But there’s one more thing you should know: I don’t feel bad if my starter step doesn’t cascade all the way to the bigger behavior. Just celebrate the fact that you’re making the starter step a habit. I know this may sound strange, but it’s part of the secret to creating habits quickly and easily: Be happy with your tiny successes. Never feel guilty about not doing more.
By Robin Peter Zander
I am currently dancing classical ballet about 20 hours each week and am about to start a gig performing with the San Francisco Opera. Regularly, I hear some version of admiration followed by self-denial, like: “That’s great that you dance so much. I have two left feet.”
I always say the same thing: “You can, too.” To begin dancing, start simply. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
We make “dance” to mean performing under pressure or doing something that is incredibly hard. While these things are fine desired outcomes, they are much to big to begin with. We have to start small, in order to quickly proceed to bigger and lofier goals. So play some music, close your eyes, and move. That counts and having done so, you’ve danced today! Congratulations!
There’s much more to how to dance regularly, and I’ll be following up with posts about other things that people use to hold them back.
—
I have begun to coach people (for free) in how to dance every day. BJ and I interested in people who want to dance everyday but don’t. If you are interested in FREE coaching on this, join the Facebook group or fill out our brief Dance Every Day survey.
By Robin Zander
In any learning process, appreciation is essential. Celebrating yourself throughout a learning process will make the whole experience more enjoyable, and incidentally faster.
Appreciating where you are right now is probably the most difficult aspect of appreciating the learning process. Most of us want to be better, more successful, more fulfilled than we are now. That’s fine. Striving is a great attribute. But it is also important to acknowledge with compassion or gratitude where you are right now. I find it easiest to do this just after a successful practice interval. For example, when I am enjoying my runner’s high or just after a great ballet class is when I feel the most proud and appreciative of where I am right then.
The appreciation of progress comes of noticing progress. I often get down on myself for not learning as quickly as I think I should. Of course, this self-judgment impedes progress. Instead, there are several simple ways to notice how much you are changing.
This is probably the easiest for most people. Future goals are where you would like to go. But the important thing to know about goal setting is that getting upset for not being there yet is only going to impede your progress. By all means, set ambitious goals. Then get excited about accomplishing them, not down on yourself for not being there yet.
Appreciate where you are, your progress and your goals for the future.
—
If you’d like help learning to appreciate progress and expedite learning, I am currently using the Tiny Habits Method to coach people how to dance every day for free. Contact me through my Tiny Habits page.