Change Your Life – One Tiny Step at a Time

Summary

The script explores the challenge of personal change by comparing the brain to a jungle with established paths representing habits. It explains the difference between routines, which are deliberate and analytical, and habits, which are automatic and triggered by context. To instigate change, the script advises focusing on small, manageable actions that can gradually become habits, making the process less about willpower and more about creating pleasurable, repeatable behaviors. It emphasizes that change is a gradual direction rather than an immediate destination, and introduces a habit journal designed to support individuals on their journey towards self-improvement.

Takeaways

• 🌟 There's often a gap between who we are and who we aspire to be, with a desire to achieve more but a tendency to fall back into old habits.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Change can seem daunting because it requires becoming more consistent, disciplined, and exerting more effort, which can be challenging to sustain.
• 🤯 The belief that failure is entirely one's own fault is a common narrative, but understanding the difficulty of change can make it more manageable.
• 🌴 The brain is likened to a jungle, where actions create paths that become easier to traverse with repetition, forming habits that are hard to break.
• 🔄 Routines are deliberate sequences of actions that can eventually turn into habits, which are automatic responses to triggers without conscious thought.
• 🔑 Habits are initiated by triggers, which can be simple cues or complex situations that signal the brain to start a behavior.
• 👶 The 'toddler' within us responds to immediate desires and rewards, often leading us down familiar paths of habit without considering long-term goals.
• 🛠️ Small changes are more effective for building new habits than large, unsustainable efforts, as they are easier to integrate into our daily lives.
• 📈 The process of habit formation involves creating a routine with clear triggers and repeating the action regularly until it becomes automatic.
• 🎉 Making new behaviors pleasurable can increase the likelihood of them becoming habits, by associating the action with enjoyment or rewards.
• ⏳ The time it takes to form a new habit varies widely, from 15 to 250 days, depending on various factors including the individual and the behavior itself.
• 📘 Kurzgesagt offers a habit journal to help track and guide the process of habit formation, providing a structured approach to personal change.

Q & A

What is the gap described between the person you are and the person you wish to be?

The gap refers to the difference between your current self and the ideal self you aspire to become, which includes both small daily actions and big life achievements such as working out regularly, eating healthily, learning a language, or pursuing hobbies.

Why does it seem that to achieve goals, one must become a different person?

Achieving goals often requires becoming more consistent, putting in more effort, and developing discipline and willpower, which may seem like the traits of a different, more successful person.

What does the script suggest as a reason for the difficulty in maintaining new behaviors?

The difficulty in maintaining new behaviors is attributed to the established 'brain highways' that make it easy and comfortable to continue doing what we have always done, making change hard.

How does the script describe the process of making a decision in the brain as a 'jungle'?

The brain is likened to a jungle where making decisions and taking actions creates paths. The more frequently an action is taken, the more pronounced the path, eventually turning into a highway that is effortless to traverse.

What is the difference between routines and habits as described in the script?

Routines are sequences of actions carried out the same way due to their past success, executed consciously and analytically. Habits, on the other hand, are actions performed without thought, set in motion by triggers and managed by an 'impulsive toddler' within us.

How can routines turn into habits?

Routines can turn into habits when they are repeated often enough that the brain starts the behavior automatically upon encountering the associated triggers, making the action feel rewarding and effortless.

What role do triggers play in forming habits?

Triggers are context cues that signal the brain to start a behavior or action. They are crucial in forming habits as they initiate the automatic response that leads to the habitual action.

Why is it suggested to focus on small changes rather than big ones when building a habit?

Small changes are more manageable and require less willpower, making them easier to integrate into daily life. Over time, these small changes can accumulate to significant improvements.

What is the suggested method to make a new action more enjoyable and likely to be repeated?

The method involves making the action itself more pleasurable, such as associating it with a favorite activity, rather than relying solely on external rewards.

How long does it typically take for a new habit to form according to the script?

The time it takes for a new habit to form can vary widely, ranging from 15 to 250 days, depending on various factors including the individual's personality, stress levels, and the nature of the behavior.

What is the purpose of the habit journal mentioned in the script?

The habit journal is designed to help individuals track their progress in forming new habits. It includes a tutorial to guide users through the process and offers reflections and examples to keep the journey engaging.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Understanding the Challenge of Change

This paragraph discusses the universal struggle of personal growth and the gap between current and desired self. It likens the brain to a jungle, where actions create paths that become easier with repetition, forming habits. The text explains that change is difficult due to the established 'highways' in our brains, which represent ingrained behaviors. It distinguishes between routines, which are consciously planned actions, and habits, which are automatic responses triggered by context cues. The paragraph emphasizes the role of the 'wise planner' for deliberate actions and the 'impulsive toddler' for habitual behaviors, suggesting that habits are formed by repeated actions that our brains find rewarding.

05:01

🏋️‍♂️ Building New Habits for Lasting Change

The second paragraph focuses on the process of habit formation and how to leverage our brain's energy-saving mechanisms to introduce new behaviors. It suggests starting with small, manageable actions and creating clear triggers to initiate these actions effortlessly. The importance of making the new behavior pleasurable and the variability in the time it takes to establish a habit are highlighted. The paragraph emphasizes the need for consistency and the gradual transition from a routine to a habit, noting that while the process is simple, it requires ongoing effort and time to achieve lasting change.

10:07

📔 Supporting Change with a Habit Journal

The final paragraph introduces a habit journal created by the authors to support the process of change. It describes the journal as a tool for tracking progress and reflecting on the habit-building journey. The journal includes a tutorial section to guide users through the initial stages of habit formation and offers examples, science breaks, and reflections to maintain interest. The paragraph also mentions the physical qualities of the journal, such as its cloth-bound cover and high-quality paper, positioning it as a companion for personal growth, regardless of the scale of the change being pursued.

Keywords

💡gap

The term 'gap' in the script refers to the difference between one's current state and the ideal state they aspire to achieve. It is a central theme of the video, illustrating the struggle many people face in bridging the distance between who they are and who they wish to be. The script mentions this gap in the context of personal goals and aspirations, such as working out, eating healthily, and pursuing hobbies.

💡discipline

Discipline is a key concept in the video, defined as the ability to control one's behavior and follow a specific pattern of rules or a plan. It is portrayed as a necessary trait for achieving goals and making changes in one's life. The script discusses how individuals often fail to maintain discipline, leading to a return to old habits and a lack of progress towards their aspirations.

💡habit

Habits are described in the script as automatic behaviors triggered by specific cues, which are performed without conscious thought. They are a central part of the video's message about change and personal development. The script explains how habits are formed and how they can be both beneficial and detrimental, depending on the nature of the behavior being repeated.

💡routine

A routine is a sequence of actions performed in the same order each time, often because they have proven effective. In the script, routines are contrasted with habits and are depicted as a precursor to habits. Routines are initially conscious and deliberate, but with repetition, they can evolve into habits that require less mental effort to execute.

💡trigger

Triggers are context cues that initiate a habit or behavior. The script uses the concept of triggers to explain how habits are formed and maintained. An example from the script is unlocking the phone screen when one sees their phone, which is a trigger that leads to the habitual action.

💡change

Change is a fundamental theme of the video, referring to the process of altering one's behavior or habits to achieve personal goals. The script discusses the difficulty of change, particularly as an adult with established habits, and offers strategies for making change more manageable by starting with small, incremental steps.

💡jungle

The script uses the metaphor of a 'jungle' to represent the brain and the process of making decisions and forming habits. The jungle illustrates how actions create paths that become easier to follow over time, symbolizing the development of habits and the resistance to change as these paths become more established.

💡energy

Energy, in the context of the script, refers to the mental and physical effort required to make decisions and perform actions. The brain is described as being energy-efficient, favoring actions that require less energy, which is why it forms habits to automate behaviors and reduce the need for conscious effort.

💡planner

The 'wise planner' is a term used in the script to describe the part of the brain responsible for conscious decision-making and strategic thinking. It is contrasted with the 'impulsive toddler,' which represents the automatic, habit-driven part of the brain. The planner is responsible for setting up new routines that can eventually become habits.

💡toddler

The 'impulsive toddler' is a metaphor used in the script to represent the part of the brain that responds to immediate desires and triggers, leading to the formation of habits. It is depicted as being impulsive and focused on short-term rewards rather than long-term goals, which is why it can lead to both good and bad habits.

💡pleasurable

The script discusses the importance of making new behaviors pleasurable to increase the likelihood that they will be repeated and become habits. Pleasurable actions are more likely to be picked up by the 'toddler' part of the brain, which seeks immediate rewards. An example given is listening to a favorite podcast while working out to make the activity more enjoyable.

Highlights

Most people experience a gap between their current self and their ideal self, with a desire to achieve more but often falling back into old habits.

Achieving goals often seems to require a transformation into a more disciplined and consistent person, which can be difficult to maintain.

The 'success and hustle' narrative can lead to self-blame for failures, but understanding the difficulty of change can alleviate frustration.

The brain is likened to a jungle, where actions create paths that become easier to traverse with repetition, forming habits.

Routines are deliberate sequences of actions that can eventually turn into habits, which are automatic and require less mental effort.

Habits are triggered by context cues and are executed without conscious thought, making them feel like autopilot behaviors.

The 'toddler' within represents impulsive desires that seek immediate rewards, often leading to the formation of habits.

Both the 'wise planner' and the 'toddler' are essential, working together to manage daily life and complex mental challenges.

To introduce new behaviors, start with small, manageable actions and use triggers to initiate them effortlessly.

Creating a routine with clear triggers can help establish a habit, making the action feel like a natural part of the day.

Making new actions pleasurable can increase the likelihood of them becoming habits, by associating them with positive experiences.

The time it takes to establish a habit varies widely, ranging from 15 to 250 days, and depends on various factors.

Starting a new habit is easy, but consistency is the challenge; the process gets easier over time.

Change is a direction rather than a destination, emphasizing the importance of the journey rather than the end goal.

The transcript introduces a habit journal designed to track progress and provide guidance on forming new habits.

The habit journal includes a tutorial, examples, and reflections to support and maintain interest in the habit-forming process.

Supporting Kurzgesagt by purchasing their habit journal or other products helps the channel continue its mission.

Transcripts

If you are like most people, there is a gap  between the person you are and the person you  

wish to be. There are little things you think you  should do and big things you ought to achieve.

From working out regularly, eating healthily,  learning a language, working on your novel,  

reading more or simply actually doing  your hobby instead of browsing reddit.

But it sometimes seems that to achieve  your goals, you have to become a different  

person. Someone who is consistent, puts in  more effort, has discipline and willpower.  

Maybe you have tried your hardest to be like  that. And it worked! For a while. Until you  

find yourself slipping back into your old  ways. In the end, you always seem to fail.  

And with every failed attempt, you become more  and more frustrated and annoyed with yourself.

If you believe “success and hustle”  internet, it is all your own fault:  

if you don't succeed, you just didn’t want it  enough and the failure is all you. But change  

is actually hard. And as with most things in  life, understanding why makes things easier.

The Jungle

Imagine your brain as a lush and  dense jungle. Moving through it,  

say to make a decision to do something,  is like moving through an *actual* jungle:  

It is hard and it costs energy.  Your brain hates expending energy,  

so it came up with a trick: All your actions and  behaviors leave paths in the jungle of your brain.

As you start doing something, you trample down  some plants and make rough, improvised trails  

through the undergrowth. The more often you do  the thing, the more pronounced the trail becomes.  

Over time it turns into a path that is  easier to tread, so you take it more often  

and it turns into a street. As you repeat  doing the thing, over and over for years,  

the street turns into a highway. Traversing it  becomes effortless, familiar and comfortable.

The more pronounced your brain highways,  the more you get used to their comfort.  

So we continue to use them, which means  we tend to do what we have always done.  

This is why change is hard, especially as an adult  

when your jungle is criss-crossed by  lots of established streets and highways.

To understand how those highways are built  we need to distinguish between two things:  

Routines and habits.

The Things You Do: Routines and Habits

A routine is a sequence of actions that you carry  out the same way every time because they’ve worked  

out well for you. For example, you get the  same ingredients for your favorite dish and  

cook them in a certain order, because you like  the taste of the result. Or before going to bed  

you set an alarm at 6:30 because  this is when you want to get up.

Imagine routines executed by a wise planner. It is  slow and analytical, responsible for strategizing  

and mental calculations. The planner is  aware of the future and carefully considers  

what kind of result you want. Based on that, it  chooses actions to achieve specific outcomes,  

even if they are uncomfortable, like  taking a shower after getting up.

Routines can eventually turn into  habits, which feel much easier  

because they are basically a sequence of  actions carried out without thinking about them.  

You have done them so often before that  your brain considers them rewarding  

and a great response to a situation. So a  habit can feel like you’re on autopilot.  

You don’t have to convince yourself to do  something that’s a habit - you just do it.

The important thing about habits is  that they are set in motion by triggers,  

context cues that can be single  things or entire situations,  

that give your brain the signal  to start the behavior or action.

You already have a lot of triggers in  your life: like when you see your phone,  

you almost always unlock the screen. Or you reach  for the seat belt when you sit in a car. Or when  

you buy your coffee before work, you also get a  cookie, even though you aren’t actually hungry.

Habits are executed by an impulsive toddler.  It responds to your immediate desires, based  

on what is around you. Without considering  any longer-term goals. For the toddler,  

the future doesn’t exist and it hates hard work.  So when it notices a trigger, it steers you to  

take this easy road inside your brain that leads  to a familiar rewarding result. If you get coffee,  

the toddler also wants the cookie, just  because that’s what you do every morning.

​This rewarding feeling is also how most of  your bad habits started: chocolate is tasty,  

browsing reddit is occasionally  mildly entertaining.  

This is why you repeat these actions,  even if they are bad for you.  

Rewarding feelings associated with an action  demand to be repeated and so a bad habit is born.

While the toddler sounds like  a built-in sabotage mechanism,  

it is as important as the wise planner and  actually they work together most of the time!

You need your wise planner for thinking big  thoughts and parallel parking and doing your  

taxes. But letting your wise planner do everything  would cost too much energy. Outsourcing mundane  

and repetitive tasks to habits, managed by  the toddler, allows your brain to easily  

manage your daily life, while dealing with more  complex mental challenges at the same time.

So if we want to change and introduce  a new behavior into our lives,  

we can actually use these energy  saving mechanisms to make it easier.

We will focus on small things, not big ones.  

Improving your life a little is  so much better than aiming high  

and changing nothing. Especially because small  changes can do a lot over months and years.

How To Build a Habit

If you want to make change easier,  the best way may not be to force  

it with willpower but to convince your  brain that it’s not that big of a deal.  

By creating new routines and then turning  them into habits. You want your wise planner  

to construct that first trail and then use your  toddler to help initiate the action effortlessly.

Let us say, you want to work out  to be fitter, a very common goal.  

The first thing to do is to break down this  pretty vague goal into clear, separate actions,  

because the idea is to make the action  itself as easy a threshold as possible:  

so small it is manageable and so specific  that you don’t have to think about it a lot.

For example, a tangible,  controllable action might be  

“doing ten squats” every morning. So you  can start by trying to create a routine  

but already include clear triggers  that the toddler can pick up later on.

Remember, a trigger is nothing more than a  signal that you always associate with the action.  

They can be visual pointers like seeing  a particular object, like your training  

outfit. Or a certain time of day, or a designated  place like a nearby park – or even better, all of  

these things combined. The important thing is that  you always start doing your action in a specific  

context. This trigger is the start button that  will eventually set off the action automatically.

So to establish a home workout habit with ten  squats to begin with, you could make sure to  

always do them with your exercise gear on, at the  same place and time, like in your living room at  

8am. Once you have your trigger and action,  all you need to do is repeat them regularly,  

ideally every day. If you keep going, they  will change from a routine to a habit,  

from a trail to a highway. Don’t get this wrong,  the squats will still take you energy to do – but  

the decision to do them will feel much less like  a chore and more like a regular part of your day.

While this is simple, it is not easy.

Many things you want to turn into habits don’t  offer as much instant gratification as wasting  

time on reddit. To make your new action easier  to repeat and more likely to be picked up by  

the toddler, try to make it pleasurable.  Not necessarily by rewarding yourself  

after you did it, but by making the action  or behavior itself more enjoyable. Like only  

listening to your favorite podcast while  working out, or chipping away at your taxes  

while you wait for civilization to load the next  round. You need to figure out what works for you.

In principle, that's it.

Frustratingly simple, like most things you can  do to make your life better. How long it takes  

for your toddler to take over and establish a  habit varies widely. It depends on the behavior  

you are trying to get used to, what kind of person  you are, your stress levels and many more things.  

It takes anything between 15 and 250  days until a new habit is kicked off  

automatically by its trigger. You won't  know how long it will take for you.

Starting is the easy part,  especially in the first week or two.  

Continuing to do it every day is the hard  part. But it does get easier as you keep going.

There are no silver bullets for  change. But the science of habits  

is a reminder that it is possible,  no matter how old or young you are.  

Even if you only end up doing a little more good  stuff or a few new things, that’s still a success.  

Being a little bit more healthy or knowledgable  is a million times better than being unhappy about  

a thing and changing nothing. In the end,  change is a direction, not a destination.

So now that we hopefully gave you a bit  of insight and motivation, this is the  

moment to sell you a thing! But please know, you  do not need to buy anything to work on yourself.

Having said that, we struggle with  change as much as anyone else,  

so we created our own habit journal, as much for  ourselves as for you. Before we printed anything,  

we tested it on ourselves and got  feedback from the Kurzgesagt team.

The idea is for you to track your habit  progress for your desired behavior.  

There is a tutorial part which guides you through  the hardest part of the process step by step.  

You’ll get helpful pointers, reflect on your  progress and how you could make things easier for  

yourself. Once you get through the tutorial part  the habit journaling starts, regularly interwoven  

by examples, science Breaks and reflections that  will hopefully keep the journey interesting.

Like our Gratitude Journal it is cloth-bound,  with an embossed hardcover and printed on  

high-quality paper. Nice to the touch and  with lots of beautiful illustrations this  

book is compangion on your personal change  journey, however small or big it may be.

Getting things from our shop is  the best way to support Kurzgesagt  

and what we try to do here on the  channel. Thank you for watching.