The Astonishing Power of Small Habits

In just one decade, from 2007 to 2017, the national British cyclists captured five Tour de France, sixty-six Olympic or Paralympic gold medals, and 178 world championships.

However, did you know that before 2007, British cyclists were not known to anyone? In fact, in a century before that, no cyclist from Britain ever won any event.

That’s how bad and dismal the cycling team of Britain was at that time.

So, what happened?

What changed that led to the overwhelming victories of the Britain cyclists that we see today?

Small habits lead to big success

It was in the year 2003 that the British cyclists took a different approach. The professional cycling board has hired Dave Brailsford who took drastic and sometimes insignificant changes that led to surprising improvements.

Brailsford was committed to the principle of what he called, “the aggregation of marginal gains.” He believes that tiny margins of improvements, when brought together, would lead to goal accomplishments.

During the leadership of Brailsford, there are numerous adjustments made, which include the following:

Redesigning the bike seats for comfort
Rubbed alcohol on the tires for better grip
Wearing heated overshorts for correct thermoregulation
Testing various fabrics in a wind tunnel for aerodynamic
Tested different massage gels
Learn how to wash hands properly
Check which mattress and pillows lead to better sleep
And so much more…

Improve your life with small changes

As you can see, small habits can dramatically improve your life.

Imagine your life if you just change a bad habit into a good habit little by little. As long as you are making progress, you will definitely make bigger strides in the future.

As James Clear wrote in his book, Atomic Habits:

Improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding.

So, don’t underestimate small habits. When you start today, you’ll soon reap positive results for the rest of your life.