There were 50 trials,and after about ten trials, both normal participants and memory loss
participants gradually improved their guessing percentage from 50% to 65-70%;their subconscious
mind picked up the patterns that suggested rain or sunshine. The Parkinson's disease participants,
however, did not improve from 50%. Without a healthy basal ganglia, their brain couldn't detect
patterns (and thus, it would be hard for them to develop new habits).
From these studies, we can see the brain is, in vastly oversimplified terms, a twopart system of
executive decisionmaking and pattern-recognition for automated behaviors. The management
functions of the prefrontal cortex can be dynamic and responsive, but they use up a lot of
energy(and willpower). The automation functions of the basal ganglia are effective and efficient.
They save us energy and take care of tasks that don't need constant monitoring.
This leads into the next important consideration-how do we get ourselves to do things consistently
with these two brain components?
Before a behavior becomes habit, the two ways to get yourself going are motivation and willpower.
Before you read this next chapter, say your final goodbyes to motivation, because you're not going
to need it anymore.
Mini Habits - Eight Small Steps To Big Change
"If you don't execute your ideas, they die." - Roger von Oech
The real fun begins now. This is the step-by-step application guide to choose and implement your
own mini habits. I recommend that you get a pad and pen now to go through these and write down
your plans and strategy.
Step 1: Choose Your Mini Habits & Habit Plan
Make a quick list of habits you'd like to have at some point. The important ones will come to
mind quickly. This will be your reference list for step one. Visit minihabits.com for ideas.
Note: habit ideas from minihabits.com are already in minified form-you can write down these mini
habits now as long as you know the larger habit it represents. One push-up could stand for
general fitness or for a larger push-up goal of 100 push-ups daily. Otherwise,write down
full-size habits for now.
It's tough to pursue one habit when you have a few more habits you're anxious to create. It
takes a lot of discipline to ignore everything else for a few months in order to solidly
develop one habit. It's worth the sacrifice to build one habit that can last a lifetime, but
it remains a challenge.
Good news, everyone. As I've alluded to already, you can build multiple mini habits at once!
This is due to their small willpower cost and flexibility. Their "size" will vary, though-both
in initial difficulty and how much extra you're likely to do. I have written far more bonus
words than I've read bonus pages.Writing is a priority for me, so it's naturally where I put
in the most effort. That said, I also read much more than I previously did, and on some days,
I read much more than I write. You're going to love this flexibility, because it allows for
parties, traveling, and other schedule aberrations.