The 2-Minute Rule: Why Your Brain Loves Tiny Habits

Want to exercise daily? Don't commit to an hour at the gym. Put on your shoes. That's it.

This is the 2-Minute Rule, and it explains why starting small works so well.

Your Brain Has a "Start" Problem

Your brain cares about patterns. Every time you repeat a behavior, the habit becomes more automatic.

But here's the catch: starting is the hardest part. Big commitments trigger resistance.

Small Actions, Big Results

Here's what most people miss: you feel progress not just when you achieve a big goal, but when you make progress toward it. A 2-minute action completes a loop. The habit strengthens.

The formula is simple:

• Want to read more? Read one page.
• Want to meditate? Breathe deeply for 60 seconds.
• Want to journal? Write one sentence.

The action doesn't matter as much as the consistency. Your brain learns: "This is what we do now."

The Growth Happens Later

Once the habit is automatic, scaling is easy. The person who reads one page eventually reads chapters. The runner who just puts on shoes eventually runs marathons. But they all started the same way: impossibly small.

Stop optimizing for intensity. Optimize for showing up.