Marina Khidekel - Your Time to Thrive: End Burnout, Increase Well-being, and Unlock Your Full Potential with the New Science of Microsteps

A fter my collapse from sleep deprivation and exhaustion in 2007, I became more and more passionate about the connection between well-being and performance. And as I went around the world speaking about my experience, I saw two things: First, that were facing a stress and burnout epidemic. And second, that people deeply want to change the way they work and live.

Thats why I launched Thrive GlobalI wanted to go beyond raising awareness and create something real and tangible that would help individuals, companies, and communities improve their well-being and performance and unlock their greatest potential. (And debunk the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success.)

Thrive Globals mission is to end the epidemic of stress and burnout by changing the way we work and live. Yes, thats a big, ambitious goal, but theres a road map for us all to get there. To borrow from the famous coda of another long journey, its less about giant leaps and more about small steps. We call these Microsteps, and theyre at the heart of our behavior change system. Microsteps are small, science-backed actions we can start doing immediately to build healthy habits that significantly improve our lives.

Hold on just a second, you may say. The way to bring about significant, life-altering changes is through small steps?

Thats right. Its the idea that if you make the steps small enough, theyll be too small to fail. And the science is incontrovertible. At Thrive, weve taken this science and built a system that works for real people, helping them kickstart real change and start getting resultsnot weeks or months from now, but immediately.

Our science-backed approach has resonated with a multitude of audiences, from tech workers and new parents to call center workers and executives of multinational companies. Weve created Microsteps to support mental health, showing people how to identify their individual signs of overstress and take action to recharge their mental batteries. This includes helping people deal with the stress and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic with, you guessed it, Microsteps. Weve created a series of Microsteps based on what neuroscientists call habit-stackingattaching a new healthy habit to an existing habit to make it sustainablefor example, thinking of three things youre grateful for while brushing your teeth. And weve crafted Microsteps to include financial well-being, since financial stress isnt just about how much we have in our bank account but is connected to our overall well-being.

As people in every industry and at every level struggle to meet the demands of a fast-paced, hyperconnected world, Microsteps have emerged as an accessible solution empowering us to realize that the keys to changing our lives are at hand. And as the science makes clear, to improve our well-being, we dont need to turn our lives upside down and change everything about ourselves and how we live. Making even very small changes in our trajectory can, over time, lead us to a very different destination. By making our Microsteps too small to fail, we can make those first, small changes on which we can begin to build a new and healthier way of living and working. Theres nothing wrong with aiming bigbut we can help ourselves by starting small.

Weve created an inspiring, motivational guide to incorporating Microsteps into your day-to-day activitiesso you, too, can see success in every facet of your life. Led by Marina Khidekel, Thrive Globals head of content development, our team of editors (including Gregory Beyer, Margarita Bertsos, Alexandra Hayes Robinson, Elaine Lipworth, and Stephen Sherrill), together with Thrives scientific advisersneuroscientists, psychologists, and behavior change expertsweave together the science of Microsteps, ancient wisdom, real peoples behavior change success stories, and of course, dozens of the most effective Microsteps. Whatever phase of life youre in, whatever your goals and circumstances, youll find inspiration to take action. Think of it as your guidebook to a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life.

At Thrive, we take a whole human approach to behavior change. Youll find Microsteps that help you improve your physical health, build your mental resilience, strengthen your relationships with others, and experience the fulfillment that comes from being part of something larger than yourself. Weve created this book with a focus on the pain points we see over and over againthe ones that most acutely prevent people from living the lives they want. These pain points might be holding you back too. What we also see again and again is that we can transform whats not working in our lives through small daily changes, which well help you implement throughout this book.

THE NEW SCIENCE OF MICROSTEPS

We are, as the saying goes, creatures of habit. According to a study from Duke University, around 45 percent of our everyday actions are made up of habits. Our habits, then, are a fundamental reflection of who we are. Habit is but a long practice, Aristotle wrote, which becomes mens nature in the end.