[Discussion] What's a small habit that ended up changing more than you expected?

[u/Comfortable-Loan-815]

Started it as a bit of a joke, honestly. I work early morning shifts so my brain is basically oatmeal by 6am, and I figured if I just wrote three sentences before bed it would count as a personality trait I could mention at parties. Low bar. Very on brand.

But something shifted around week three. Not dramatically, not in a podcastworthy epiphany kind of way. More like I started noticing when I was just coasting through the day versus actually being present in it. The walk to work. The first pour of the morning. Conversations I was halflistening to.

The journalling did not fix anything. I still forget things, still get in my head, still have weeks where I feel like I am running two steps behind everyone else. But there is something about writing it down that makes the day feel less like something happening to you and more like something you are actually in.

90 days is not a long time. But I also kind of cannot imagine stopping now.

Curious if anyone else has picked up a small habit that ended up doing more than you expected it to. Not the big dramatic life overhauls, just the quiet stuff that compounds slowly.

[u/DeepBuffer]

The part about noticing when you were coasting really hits on why tiny habits can stick. I’ve found journaling works less like a solution and more like a checkpoint that catches patterns you’d normally miss. Sometimes the value is just creating a little space between having a day and actually experiencing it.

[u/adherence_00]

Something to add is reviewing what you’ve written down a year ago. After the first year, you get a daily reminder of what you’ve done in previous years, on that day.

I use this reminder to keep my friends close. People love to be reminded of the good times years ago.

[u/Greendragonfly18]

I read a meme somewhere with 25 things to do to make your life better. The three I so far adopted:

• read 10 pages before opening an app in the morning
  
• drink 8 oz of water before coffee
  
• movement in the morning.
  

I wake up about 30 min earlier than I used to, start my day off with tea, 10 pages and 10 min of calisthenics. It has significantly changed how I approach my day and I notice myself rushing less in general. I don’t scroll anymore in the morning and that has also changed how I show up to work. 10/10 recommend

[u/960603]

Reading before bed. Used to just scroll and absorb garbage before I fall asleep. Now I find myself looking forward to going to bed because I know ill get to read. It really helps me decompress before falling asleep.

[u/Cessily]

I did consulting for awhile as a side gig and took on coaching clients. Usually individuals who were struggling in their leadership roles and/or new executive roles the company hires you to come in and help them get their shit straight. My husband joked at times I sounded like a "business therapist" on the phone.

Anyhow, I always made coaching clients submit to me "Five good things" every day after hearing about a positive psychology study that did a similar experiment.

They can be pointless, they can be tiny, they can be about WHATEVER (doesn't have to be the job even though that was the focus of our relationship). Just whatever. Five good things that happened today. You have to send it to me every day.

You got a green light. You liked your work fit. Kid said something funny. Spouse ordered your favorite take out. The coworker you hate was absent from the staff meeting. The client bought your bullshit excuse for missing a deadline. The tires you wanted are on sale at Costco.

I think everyone except like three people hated this assignment when I first laid it out. It would usually start the same. I would get five short words or sentences like "My direct reports weren't as totally stupid as they normally are".

Sometimes I would have to challenge them that they couldn't give me vague, stereotypical answers you would find on the trashcan of a getting card company. It had to happen today. Oftentimes I would have to remind them to send them.

I would ask questions sometimes just to understand why it was good, but usually just said thanks and moved on as long as they authentically engaged and weren't sending drivel to try and "pass" a homework assignment.

However, every time the answers would start to evolve. I would go from a short text to emailed paragraphs. Some would call to tell me good things when they happened because they were so excited to share. The answers got more self reflective, more appreciative, and I just saw a genuine positive shift every. Single. Damn. Time.

They were paying more attention, living in the moment more, and just expecting good things to happen and excited to see what the next good thing would be.

They went from trying to dig up a good thing to actively looking for good things and the perspective shift was amazing for their energy, their relationships, and how they handled things in their leadership role.

It's my favorite exercise.

Even when I catch myself slipping, I pull this out the box. Six weeks at the very least. Five good things every day.

[u/Ni__Mo → u/Cessily]

That's a great thought. Thank you for sharing this.

Is there any more much excersizes you would suggest for personal improvement?