A scientist put rats in a tube filled with water to see how long they’d swim before they drowned.
Most gave up and died within minutes.
The scientist then let some rats fight for their lives for a few minutes, then took them out and dried them off. After “saving” them, he put them back in the tube to see how long they’d swim.
They swam for days.
Nir Eyal shared this study in his recent book Beyond Belief to demonstrate that beliefs, not ability, can determine outcomes.
Small wins
“Your brain needs direct evidence that change is possible. Every small victory that proves our actions matter helps build beliefs that override our default passivity,” Eyal says.
We don’t need more positive thinking; we need action.
To get better at some aspect of business, take the smallest possible action in that area.
Create one ad.
Write one headline.
Dr. BJ Fogg, author of *Tiny Habits,* my personal favorite book on forming positive habits, advises tiny actions. Do one pushup. Then two. Then three.
Every small action provides a small win. You prove that 1) you can act and 2) that change is possible.
Design your win
- What’s one area of business or your personal life that you’d like to improve?
- What do you know you must do that you’ve been putting off?
- What’s the smallest version of that you can do, in the next 15 minutes?
- Set a timer (I like e.ggtimer.com).
- Do it.
We create our lives one tiny step at a time.
To the next step,
Matt