CELEBRATE SMALL WINS
There is a great book that lines up with the Ripple philosophy incredibly well. Tiny Habits, by author BJ Fogg, looks at small wins as great accomplishments. Flossing one tooth, when the goal is to floss your entire smile, that radically small win should be celebrated, because by setting the bar really low, behavioral change is more likely to happen. By stacking up these small wins, soon there will be a skyscraper of victories, and the road to better wellness is easier to see from such a high vantage point.
Other examples in the book include writing one to-do on a post-it note everyday, that’s it. You don’t have to actually complete the to-do, but just that act alone encourages you to prioritize your day. And if you finish that task, that’s extra credit. How about doing two push-ups after going to the bathroom? Might not seem like enough to make any kind of difference to your physical strength, but those two little push ups allowed Fogg to work his way up to 50 push-ups in a row, but he never lost sight of his original goal, and when things got too busy in his world, he was still able to get those two push-ups in after potty breaks, giving him the opportunity to celebrate sticking to his habit.
So many times, it is either all or nothing when it comes to goals, but that is a very difficult way to maintain any kind of positive momentum. There are so many factors that are beyond someone's control that can stop them from reaching the top of the goal mountain. By anchoring your routine on tiny and manageable habits, behavior changes and improvements come more easily, and the discouraging feelings that often derail progress are much less likely to appear. Let Ripple Changemakers teach your employees how to start crawling, so that soon they will be running full speed down the wellness path.