‘It’s not about making a drastic change overnight’: Deepika Padukone highlights the power of taking micro steps to implement lasting healthy habits

 

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The significance of taking micro steps when making a lasting change

Priyamvada Tendulkar, a counseling psychologist, said micro-steps are significant when undertaking change or habit-building. “As individuals, we have a complex system of functioning. Thus, change feels overwhelming and, at a systemic level, becomes very challenging. Taking baby steps helps cut through the overwhelming task of trying to change your whole life,” she told indianexpress.com.

According to her, tiny slices of change can have a significant impact because now you have overcome the biggest hurdle of starting something. Explaining the concept of activation energy or the amount required to break the stability or inertia, she said: “If 100 units are required to do an activity, typically 60 or 75 units might be required just to activate the task. Only the remaining is actually required to do it.”

She gave the example of how we often need to prod and push ourselves to exercise, but “once we’ve already started, the resistance melts away, and momentum takes over.”

Hence, Tendulkar stressed that baby steps not only reduce the amount of activation energy required but also help us get going and take the pressure away from trying to change a lot at once. This can trigger an all-or-nothing mindset and stall us into procrastination and perfectionism.