How to Use Mini-Wins to Reignite Your Motivation Instantly
Stuck in a slump? What if the key to instant motivation wasn’t a massive goal—but a small, strategic win you can create in seconds?
Happy Friday and welcome to Mindset Minute—your daily science-backed stress fix.
If you’ve been waiting for motivation to magically appear, today’s issue will show you a simple way to create it instead.
Perspective
Waiting for motivation is like waiting for Wi-Fi on an airplane—you hope it kicks in, but you’re better off finding another way to get things moving.
Mindset Minute
How to Use Mini-Wins to Reignite Your Motivation Instantly
The Real Problem
Most people think motivation comes before action. That’s the biggest mistake. If you wait until you feel like it, you’ll stay stuck.
Neuroscience shows that motivation actually follows action, not the other way around. When you accomplish something—even something tiny—your brain releases dopamine, the feel-good chemical that makes you want to keep going.
The problem? We focus too much on big goals and ignore the mini-wins that create momentum. If you’ve ever felt paralyzed by a massive to-do list, it’s because your brain doesn’t see a clear starting point.
The solution? Make success so small, you can’t fail.
Core Strategy: The Snowball Momentum Effect
You can trigger it using mini-wins instead of waiting for motivation to strike.
These are quick, effortless victories that send a signal to your brain: I’m making progress.
The Mini-Win Method
If you’re stuck, here’s how to jumpstart your motivation in seconds.
🎯 Step 1: Pick the Smallest Possible Action
The trick is to start with something so easy it’s impossible to fail. If your goal is writing, open a blank doc. If it’s exercise, stand up and stretch.
Action: Shrink your goal until it feels effortless.
🚀 Step 2: Set a 60-Second Timer
Your brain resists long, effort-heavy tasks, but it doesn’t mind short bursts. A one-minute commitment tricks your brain into starting.
Action: Set a timer and do the tiniest step for 60 seconds.
🔁 Step 3: Stack the Win
Once you’ve got momentum, stack another win on top. If you wrote one sentence, add another. If you stretched, do one jumping jack.
Action: Build up small wins until momentum takes over.
Why It Works:
Your brain thrives on progress, not pressure. Research shows that small wins boost dopamine, the neurotransmitter linked to motivation and learning.
When you complete a micro-task, your brain rewards you with a dopamine hit, making you want to continue (Harvard Business Review).
This is why people who break down their goals into mini-wins stick with them longer. Their brains are constantly fed reinforcement signals—so they keep going.
Audio Deep Dive:
If you want to take a deeper dive into this idea, we’ve got you covered with this AI-generated audio hosted by Alan and Rebecca:
Your challenge:
Pick something you’ve been procrastinating on. Now, shrink it down until it’s laughably easy.
Do that one tiny step today. Watch how quickly momentum builds.
Start stacking those wins,
Warren
P.S.
Big results don’t come from big efforts. They come from tiny wins stacked daily. What’s your first micro-win today?
P.P.S.
⚡ Need a motivation boost? Get my "5 Days to Rebuild Your Focus" and get yourself unstuck and moving fast.👇
Citations & References:
Amabile, T. (2011). The Power of Small Wins. Harvard Business Review.
Aarts, H. et al. (2012). Habits as knowledge structures: The psychology of habit formation. Psychological Review.
Deci, E. & Ryan, R. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology.