
One Small Step Can Change Your Life
by Robert Maurer · first published 2004
10mentions
6recommended by
7HN commenters
2007–2024first – last mentioned
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Explains how small, incremental changes can sidestep the brain's fear response and build momentum. Suited to anyone stuck on a distant goal. The book is short and easy to pick up.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Other books in a similar vein that I liked: _One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way_ by Robert Maurer _Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results_ by Stephen Guise Both are short reads, and the Kaizen book is also in a nice small form factor that you can stick in your…
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗Step 1 is changing your self perception and self efficacy. A wise man once said "success is 80% psychology, 20% mechanics" I'd like to refer 2 resources. One is Dr. Robert Maurer's "The Kaizen Way: One Small Step Can Change Your Life". This book is about how you can bypass the fear mechanisms of the brain, which cause procrastination and failure. The second is "The Winner Effect" by Ian H. Robertson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlxCN1aCa2M…
on “I'm a loser and I want to change that - now” ↗I think the problem is you're just looking at the faraway deadline and getting demotivated. One book that helped me is One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer.
on “Ask HN: Can't code for hours since it became a job” ↗For the mind: "One small step can change your life" by Robert Maurer For the body: "You Are Your Own Gym" by Mark Lauren
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗There are five sources that have changed my life in the past several years: 1. Stoicism. 2. Atomic Habits, by James Clear. 3. One Small Step Can Change Your Life, by Rovert Maurer 4. How to Fail and Still Win Big, by Scott Adams (don't like the guy, but agree with this book) 5. Rewire Your Anxious Brain, by Pittman and Karle I can't recommend these highly enough.…
on “Ask HN: What’s your favorite mental model / framework for self development?” ↗A beautiful breakdown of this idea is in ' One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way' by Robert Maurer. What Maurer does, however, is explain the biological reasons this works. When we are stressed/anxious/afraid, the part of the brain called the amygdala activates our…
on “Get started with 2-minute rule” ↗…Karle This book genuinely changed my life this past year or so. If you're dealing with anxiety in any form, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Clear, easy to read, understand, and apply. 3. One Small Step Can Change Your Life--the Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer I actually re-read this little gem of a book in 2020. It's practical and clear. I've given it as a gift to many people.
on “Ask HN: Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2020?” ↗>as one of those people who makes New Year's Resolutions every year, and gets mildly depressed when I fail to reach them... This statement made me think of the book: One Small Step Can Change Your Life https://www.amazon.com/Small-Step-Change-Your-Life/dp/076118... ...it is written by a psychiatrist about the practice of Kaizen, where you take absurdly small steps to reach your goals. So small that…
on “Do quests, not goals” ↗Try this book: One Small Step Can Change Your Life; basically the author is a cognitive psychologist who studied various business processes and came to the conclusion that the ones that were most effective were not necessarily the best, they just worked…
on “Ask HN: How do programmers deal with ADD?” ↗Hi! I just finished reading this short, sweet, easy-to-read book called "One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way" by Robert Maurer. It's a psychologist's attempt to figure out why "Kaizen"-based (micro-plans, small steps, continuous action) approaches to project management seem to consistently succeed…
on “Greetings Y folks! Simple life-hack in exchange for your collective advice!” ↗