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#48: Imagine that your goal is to build a flat stomach and stronger biceps. But deep down, subconsciously, you\u2019re afraid you might fail.\n So you procrastinate. \u201cI\u2019ll work out tomorrow,\u201d you tell yourself. \u201cOr next week. Or next year.\u201d As a result, you don\u2019t make progress.\n But let\u2019s flip the script. Instead of focusing on the result \u2014 your appearance \u2014 you focus on the smallest possible action.\n You create a new goal: Everyday, you\u2019ll do a single push-up. You\u2019ve designed a goal that cannot fail. The moment you commit to this goal, you drop to the ground and do a push-up. Congratulations. You\u2019ve succeeded today. You repeat this everyday for a week. You build a new habit and new sense of self-identity. You\u2019re the type of person who does daily push-ups.\n One day, while executing your single push-up, you figure, \u201cAh, what the heck,\u201d and pump out a few more. One push-up grows into five, ten, fifteen, twenty. You focus on tiny actions, rather than their potential long-term payoff.\n Eventually, you get results. In today's episode, Stephen Guise, author of Mini-Habits, describes how the "one push-up" mentality accelerated his progress faster than a "100-pushup" mentality ever could.\n He explains why he decided to start focusing on actions, he shares the technique that he uses to conquer writer's block, and he talks about embracing "imperfectionism."\n Enjoy!\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices