Nov 5 • 🔥 General discussion
1% Better
Several best-selling books on performance improvement/self-help discuss making small/tiny improvements every day to achieve marked improvement in the future.
The British Cycling Federation hired Sir David Brailsford to take over as head coach. He developed the concept of 'the aggregation of marginal gains.' James Clear discusses this philosophy in Atomic Habits.
Brailsford looked at every component of world-class cycling and then tried to figure out how to improve each area by the slightest amount, resulting in marginal gains. However, the aggregation of all these tiny changes yielded huge gains over time.
How can you apply this principle?
Over the past 50 years I have seen people who try to make big changes all at once and then giving up because it/they were overwhelmed.
Let's look at three common areas for most people — diet, exercise, and finances.
Instead of trying a new diet and throwing out everything in your pantry that doesn't align with it, then restocking it with 100s of dollars' worth of new items, focus on small changes and be consistent. For example, start by replacing one 'bad' food with a 'good' one. Do this every week and see what happens.
Instead of jumping into a new exercise program (e.g., buying new gear, getting fitness tech gadgets, hiring a fitness coach), start off with the simple act of walking for 5 minutes. And then gradually increase it each week. There are plenty of free programs out there that can take you from 'being sedentary to being fit' without a lot of overpriced gear and gadgets.
Instead of setting lofty saving/spending goals you can't sustain, start small and build momentum with small wins. Start by looking at your income and expenses. Try to exchange one expenditure for an increase in savings. For example, if you buy a couple of lattes or energy drinks every day, cut back to one a day, then every other day... and then put that money into savings or toward paying down your highest-interest accounts.
What's one thing you can apply the marginal gains principle to? How will it change your life?
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1% Better
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