Concept
Fogg Behavior Model
The Fogg Behavior Model states that a behaviour happens only when motivation, ability and a prompt converge at the same moment, so the smaller a behaviour is, the less motivation it needs.
BJ Fogg developed the model at Stanford's Behavior Design Lab and built Tiny Habits on it. Written as B = MAP, it says three things must line up: you want to do it, you can do it right now, and something reminds you. Since motivation rises and falls beyond your control, the reliable lever is ability: make the behaviour so small that even a bad day's motivation clears the bar. What people get wrong is treating the tiny version as the goal. It is the entry point; once the loop runs on its own the behaviour grows naturally, and on the worst days the tiny version keeps it alive instead of letting the streak die.
A real-life example
Merve wants to start running but every plan has died by week three. This time she picks the smallest version: put on running shoes after the morning coffee and step outside for one minute. Some days she runs three kilometres; on the bad days she walks to the corner and back. Six weeks later she has not missed a day, because the bar was never higher than her worst morning.
How to use it
- 1Write the version of your habit that takes under a minute and needs no motivation: two push-ups, one page, one glass of water.
- 2Attach it to a prompt that already fires every day, such as after coffee, after brushing your teeth, after closing the laptop.
- 3Let it grow only when it has become effortless, and go back to the tiny version on any hard day.