Think Small Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Think Small

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Zusammenfassung von Think Small

Name: Think Small
Rating: 4.4 (95 reviews)
Author: Owain Service and Rory Gallagher

Owain Service and Rory Gallagher

The Surprisingly Simple Way to Reach Big Goals

4.4 (95 Bewertungen)

19 Min.

Kurz zusammengefasst

Think Small by Owain Service and Rory Gallagher is a guide to behavioral science, offering practical tools for making positive changes in our daily lives. By breaking down complex ideas into manageable steps, it helps readers make better decisions and achieve their goals.

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What’s in it for me? Discover surprisingly simple ways to achieve big things.

Many of us have big ambitions. We dream of starting a business or learning a new language, of losing weight or running a marathon – but, when dreams come banging up against reality, the going can get tough.

No matter how driven we are, there will always be roadblocks on the path to success. It can be hard to stay motivated, to break bad habits, to find an effective routine. Sheer determination doesn’t always cut it.

Luckily, these blinks explain how behavioral science can help you overcome common obstacles. They’ll guide you through a seven-point framework that’ll lead you, one small step at a time, to the achievement of major goals.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why chasing a monetary reward makes you less likely to persevere;
why you shouldn’t obsessively count calories; and
why strangers are more helpful than you’d think.

Behavioral science shows us that small changes in the way we act and think can lead to big changes in our lives.

Have you ever made a potentially life-changing New Year’s resolution – to quit smoking, for example, or to start running every morning – only to find that, come February, you’ve forgotten all about it?

It’s an all-too-common situation. But why do we have such difficulty persevering our big plans?

Well, we tend to think that we’ll pursue our aims with focus and thought, but the reality is that our minds are not always in a thoughtful and focused state. Distractions and temptations are constant, and, more often than not, we succumb to them.

Let’s say you’ve resolved to follow a diet that entails counting and controlling your calorie intake, day in, day out. Naturally, this requires a lot of focus – a level of focus that’s almost impossible to keep up. People face countless mental demands daily, from the pressures of a tough day at work to the stresses of raising children, so it’s no surprise that many dieters will, at some point, lose focus, give in to temptation and sneak in a snack.

So what can we do to stay on track and stick to our goals? Behavioral science has some surprisingly simple answers.

We can, for example, make use of the nudge theory, which suggests that small changes, when subtly encouraged, can lead to big results. Maybe you set your watch two minutes early to help keep yourself punctual. Or maybe you’ve joined a running group, harnessing sociability to stay motivated with exercise. That’s nudge theory in action.

Nudge theory often makes use of social norms – patterns in our peers’ behavior that we feel compelled to imitate.

For instance, one project, conducted by the UK government, tested the impact of social norms by adding a single line to the end of letters sent to citizens with outstanding tax debts: “most people with a debt like yours have paid it by now.” The result? Because people thought prompt payment was the expected behavior, they paid up quickly, generating hundreds of millions of pounds in taxes paid.

In total, behavioral science offers seven steps for nudging yourself toward happiness and achievement. And you’ll learn them all in the following blinks.

The first step is to pursue a single goal that will contribute to your well-being and to set clear targets and deadlines.

We all think we know what will make us happy. We set ourselves goals and assume we’ll be happier when we’ve achieved them. Maybe your goal is to buy a house or attract a million views on YouTube – but one thing is for sure: there’s a good chance the goal is the wrong one. It’s either unrealistic or won’t really make us happy.

That’s why setting the right goals is the first step to nudging your behavior in the right direction.

The second step requires setting yourself simple rules and embracing the power of habit to stick to your plans.

Imagine you’re on a strict diet. You’re constantly googling where avocados sit on the glycemic index, noting down the calories in your chicken salad (no dressing) and adding up your daily intake. Well, you’d be making a common mistake – because your diet would be far too complex.

Humans love simplicity, which is why many people on complex diets eventually say, “Screw it!” and go back to bingeing on ice cream. In fact, researchers have found that “rule complexity” is the main thing that leads people to drop a diet.

The third step is to make your goal public and appoint a referee to judge your progress.

Ever made a commitment for the future – say, to train for a marathon – only to find that, when the time comes, you’d rather watch TV than go running in the rain? Here’s a good trick to keep you committed: we’re more likely to follow through on things that we’ve publicly committed to doing.

Humans are very aware of the expectations of others. Commit privately to running a marathon, and no one can judge you for that Saturday spent on the sofa. Commit publicly, and social expectations come into play.

In the fourth step, use the right incentives to help push you toward your goal.

Most of us incentivize certain behaviors by promising rewards. Parents, for instance, may allow their children a certain amount of TV time as a reward for finished homework. But how can you tell whether your incentives will actually work?

It’s certainly the case that certain rewards, particularly financial rewards, can backfire. In fact, if you’re already motivated to achieve something, the introduction of a financial reward might even weaken your resolve.

Humans are social animals, so in the fifth step, ask for help and team up with others to achieve better results, faster.

We often keep our goals private. After all, they’re personal. But, as the adage goes, “a problem shared is a problem halved,” and the same goes for the burden of attaining your goals.

Asking for help is a simple but powerful tool. People are often more willing to help than we’d think, even if there’s not much in it for them.

In the sixth step, get actionable feedback on your progress and compare it to those around you.

If you’ve ever worked toward a big goal, you’ve probably felt a little lost at some point. Should you have improved your running times by now? Have you written enough job applications?

The best way to track your progress is through clear feedback. Feedback not only keeps you motivated; it lets you know where you are in relation to your goal.

In the seventh step, stay the course by practicing with focus and experimenting with what works.

When we’re striving to achieve something, we often fall into the same old routines, such as intending, but regularly failing, to go to the gym after work. We could all be a little more critical about which approaches actually work.

Studies show that successful people commonly engage in focused practice.

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Worum geht es in Think Small?

Think Small (2017) shows how small changes in the way we think and act can help us achieve big goals. Harnessing insights from behavioral science, the author sets out a seven-step program to help you make and stick to plans for improving your well-being. Whether your aim is to lose weight or to get ahead at work, this framework will help you get there.

Bestes Zitat aus Think Small

Create clear, simple rules that reduce the mental effort required to stick to your goal.

—Owain Service and Rory Gallagher

Wer Think Small lesen sollte

Students of behavioral science
Strivers seeking practical guidance for achieving major goals
Anyone who wants to improve their life

Über den Autor

Owain Service is the managing director of the Behavioural Insights Team. This organization, created by the UK government, seeks to better the lives of citizens by applying behavioral science to policy-making and public services.

Rory Gallagher is managing director of the organization’s work in the Asia-Pacific region.

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