Introduction
In a world where we're constantly bombarded with messages about thinking big and reaching for the stars, Owain Service's book "Think Small" offers a refreshing and practical perspective. This insightful work delves into the science of behavior and shows us how small, seemingly insignificant changes can lead to remarkable results in our lives.
Many of us have grand ambitions - starting a business, learning a new language, losing weight, or running a marathon. But when these dreams collide with reality, we often find ourselves struggling to stay on track. Motivation wanes, bad habits persist, and effective routines remain elusive. Sheer willpower, it turns out, isn't always enough to get us where we want to go.
This is where "Think Small" comes in. Drawing on the latest findings in behavioral science, Service presents a seven-point framework designed to guide readers towards achieving their most significant goals, one small step at a time. The book's premise is simple yet powerful: by understanding and harnessing the quirks of human behavior, we can set ourselves up for success in ways we might never have imagined.
The Power of Small Changes
One of the central ideas in "Think Small" is that our minds are not always in a thoughtful and focused state. We like to believe that we'll pursue our goals with unwavering determination, but the reality is far messier. Distractions and temptations constantly vie for our attention, and more often than not, we give in to them.
Consider the common scenario of setting a New Year's resolution to quit smoking or start running every morning. By February, many of us have already forgotten about these well-intentioned plans. Why? Because maintaining that level of focus and commitment day in and day out is incredibly challenging. Life gets in the way - work stress, family obligations, and countless other demands on our mental energy make it all too easy to lose sight of our goals.
This is where the concept of "nudge theory" comes into play. Nudge theory suggests that small changes, when subtly encouraged, can lead to significant results. It's about creating an environment that makes it easier to make good decisions and stick to our goals. For example, setting your watch a few minutes fast to help you be punctual, or joining a running group to stay motivated with exercise. These small nudges can have a surprisingly large impact on our behavior over time.
Service also highlights the power of social norms in shaping our behavior. We're inherently social creatures, and we tend to conform to the patterns of behavior we see in our peers. This can be leveraged to encourage positive changes. For instance, the book mentions a UK government project that significantly increased tax payments simply by adding a line to reminder letters stating that most people with similar debts had already paid. This small change tapped into people's desire to conform to social norms, resulting in hundreds of millions of pounds in additional tax revenue.
The Seven Steps to Success
Service outlines seven key steps for nudging ourselves toward happiness and achievement. Let's explore each of these in detail.
Step 1: Set the Right Goal
The first step in Service's framework is crucial: choosing the right goal. We often assume we know what will make us happy, but research suggests we're not always the best judges of our own well-being. Many people set goals related to acquiring material possessions, thinking a new car or a bigger house will bring lasting happiness. However, studies consistently show that experiences, rather than things, are more likely to improve our well-being.
According to research, the top five factors that consistently improve well-being are:
- Social relationships
- Health and activity
- Generosity
- Learning new things
- Building curiosity or mindfulness
Notably absent from this list are material possessions. This is illustrated by a study of people who received a $5,000 bonus. Those who spent the money on gifts for others or made charitable donations reported higher levels of happiness compared to those who spent the money on themselves.
Once you've identified a goal that aligns with these well-being factors, it's important to make it specific and achievable. Service recommends focusing on a single goal rather than trying to tackle multiple objectives at once. This allows you to channel all your energy and attention into one area, increasing your chances of success.
A study of people trying to save money in India provides compelling evidence for this approach. Those who focused on a single savings goal (such as funding a child's education) managed to save almost 11% of their income, while those with multiple savings goals only managed to save 6%.
Finally, Service emphasizes the importance of setting clear targets and deadlines. Rather than a vague goal like "lose some weight this year," you're more likely to succeed with a specific, time-bound objective like "lose 5 pounds by Easter." This gives you a clear benchmark to work towards and a deadline to keep you motivated.
Step 2: Simplify the Rules and Embrace Habits
The second step in Service's framework focuses on making your goal easier to achieve by simplifying the rules and leveraging the power of habits.
Many people make the mistake of overcomplicating their approach to achieving their goals. For example, someone on a diet might obsess over calorie counting, constantly researching the nutritional content of every food they eat. This level of complexity is often unsustainable, leading to frustration and ultimately abandonment of the goal. Research has shown that "rule complexity" is the main reason people give up on diets.
Instead, Service advocates for simplifying the rules as much as possible. In the case of dieting, he suggests approaches like the 5:2 method, where you only need to count calories two days a week and eat normally the other five. The easier it is to follow the rules, the more likely you are to stick with them over the long term.
Alongside simplicity, Service emphasizes the power of habits in driving behavior. Our habits are deeply ingrained patterns of behavior that we often perform without conscious thought. By identifying and modifying these habits, we can make significant progress towards our goals.
To harness the power of habits, Service recommends a two-step approach:
Identify and eliminate triggers for bad habits. If you're trying to quit smoking and you only smoke when you drink, consider cutting back on alcohol for a while.
Form new, positive habits by repeating behaviors in specific circumstances. For example, if you're trying to write a book, you might commit to writing for 45 minutes every morning right after your alarm goes off. At first, this might feel forced, but over time, the sound of your alarm will become a trigger for your writing habit.
By simplifying the rules and leveraging the power of habits, you can make the path to your goal much smoother and more sustainable.
Step 3: Make Your Goal Public and Appoint a Referee
The third step in Service's framework taps into our social nature and our desire to meet others' expectations. By making your goal public and appointing someone to monitor your progress, you can significantly increase your chances of success.
We've all experienced the phenomenon of making a commitment for the future - like training for a marathon - only to find our motivation waning when the time comes to actually do the work. Service suggests that making your commitment public can help combat this tendency. When we commit to something privately, there's no external pressure to follow through. But when we make a public commitment, we become accountable to others, which can be a powerful motivator.
This principle is illustrated by the fact that couples who marry in secret are 12 times more likely to get divorced than those who have a traditional wedding with many guests. The public nature of the commitment strengthens our resolve to follow through.
To take this a step further, Service recommends appointing a "commitment referee" - someone who will monitor your progress and determine whether you've achieved your goal. Research has found that people with a referee are 70% more likely to achieve their goal than those without one.
The author shares a personal anecdote about wanting to go to the gym more regularly. He committed to this goal in front of his colleagues and appointed his co-author as his referee. The fear of having his failure declared to his coworkers quickly made the gym a regular part of his routine.
However, Service cautions against choosing the wrong referee. A romantic partner, for instance, might be too lenient. Instead, he suggests choosing a trusted coworker or a friend who will hold you accountable.
By making your goal public and appointing a referee, you create external accountability that can help push you towards success even when your internal motivation falters.
Step 4: Use the Right Incentives
The fourth step in Service's framework focuses on the power of incentives. While we often think of rewards as a good way to motivate ourselves, Service warns that not all incentives are created equal. In fact, some types of rewards can actually backfire and reduce our motivation.
One surprising finding from behavioral science is that financial rewards can sometimes weaken our resolve, especially if we're already motivated to achieve something. Service cites a famous study of blood donors that illustrates this point. When a small cash reward was introduced for donations, the number of people donating actually decreased. The weak motivator of a little cash displaced the stronger motivation of feeling a moral duty to donate.
So how can we set effective incentives? Service suggests putting something valuable at stake. He describes an anti-smoking program where participants had to deposit a substantial amount of money into a bank account, knowing they would lose it all if they smoked even a single cigarette. This approach was highly effective, with participants 30% more likely to quit smoking. Even a year after the program ended and they had received their money back, they were still more likely to be non-smokers.
From this and other studies, Service outlines four key principles for effective incentive systems:
- Rewards must be explicitly linked to meeting a target.
- They must be substantial.
- The reward must be binding, so you know you'll definitely get it if you meet the target.
- People are more motivated by the fear of losing something than by the prospect of gaining something of equal value.
This last point is particularly important. The pain of losing $200 feels worse than the pleasure of gaining $200 feels good. This principle, known as loss aversion, can be a powerful tool in creating effective incentives.
Service emphasizes that the key to effective incentives is to reinforce, rather than replace, your personal motivation for achieving your goals. By aligning your incentives with your intrinsic motivation, you can create a powerful system for driving yourself towards success.
Step 5: Harness the Power of Social Support
The fifth step in Service's framework focuses on the social aspect of goal achievement. As humans, we are inherently social creatures, and leveraging this aspect of our nature can significantly boost our chances of success.
Service begins by encouraging readers to ask for help. Many of us keep our goals private, viewing them as personal matters. However, the old adage "a problem shared is a problem halved" holds true when it comes to achieving our goals. People are often more willing to help than we might expect, even if there's little in it for them.
To illustrate this point, Service describes a study where researchers asked people how likely they thought strangers would be to let them borrow a phone in a big city. Most people predicted that only about 30% of strangers would help. In reality, 50% of strangers were happy to share their phone. This demonstrates that humans have a natural desire to help others, and we often underestimate this willingness.
Beyond just asking for help, Service emphasizes the power of working with others towards our goals. This not only helps us stick to our plans but can also push us to go further than we might on our own.
One study explored this effect by testing gym-goers. One group exercised alone, while another group exercised with a virtual buddy over Skype. Interestingly, the "virtual buddy" was actually just a looped video, but those exercising with this untiring companion exercised for much longer than those working out alone. They were motivated to keep up with their digital friend, even though it wasn't real.
Another study looked at the impact of teamwork on saving money. When savers teamed up with others to share their goals and monitor each other's progress, their saving rates doubled compared to those saving alone.
These examples highlight how our social nature can be a powerful tool in achieving our goals. By tapping into our social networks, asking for help, and teaming up with others, we can create a supportive environment that propels us towards success.
Service encourages readers to embrace this aspect of human nature. Whether it's finding a workout buddy, joining a study group, or partnering with a friend to save money, involving others in our goal pursuit can provide motivation, accountability, and support that we might struggle to maintain on our own.
Step 6: Get Actionable Feedback and Compare Your Progress
The sixth step in Service's framework focuses on the importance of clear, actionable feedback and the power of social comparison in driving progress towards our goals.
When working towards a big goal, it's common to feel lost or uncertain about our progress. Are we improving our running times as quickly as we should be? Have we sent out enough job applications? Without clear benchmarks, it's easy to lose motivation or veer off course.
Service argues that the best way to track progress is through clear, actionable feedback. This feedback not only keeps us motivated but also helps us understand where we are in relation to our goal. He likens this to the childhood game of "hot or cold," where a bystander guides a blindfolded player towards a hidden object by saying "warmer" or "colder" as they move closer or further away. This immediate feedback allows the player to adjust their actions and move towards the goal more efficiently.
The same principle applies to our personal and professional goals. If you're training for a marathon, for example, using an app to track every training run can provide valuable feedback on your progress. If you notice your 10K time isn't improving as quickly as you'd hoped, you can adjust your training regimen accordingly.
Service acknowledges that getting clear feedback can be trickier for some goals, like finding a new job. However, even in these cases, we can find ways to measure progress. If you're not getting as many interviews as you expected, for instance, you might need to reassess the number or quality of your applications.
To make feedback even more powerful, Service suggests introducing a comparison with others. This taps into our natural desire to conform to social expectations and compete with our peers.
He illustrates this with an experiment he conducted to reduce the overprescription of antibiotics. Doctors who were in the top 20% of antibiotic prescribers were sent letters informing them that the vast majority of other practices prescribed fewer antibiotics. This simple feedback, leveraging social comparison, led to over 70,000 fewer antibiotics being prescribed.
Service emphasizes that this kind of social comparison can be a powerful motivator. When we see that others in similar situations are performing better than us, it often spurs us to improve our own performance.
However, he cautions that comparisons should be made carefully. It's important to compare ourselves to relevant peers - those in similar situations or with similar goals. Comparing our progress to that of others who are far ahead of us or in very different circumstances can be demotivating.
By seeking out clear, actionable feedback and thoughtfully comparing our progress to others, we can stay on track and motivated as we work towards our goals.
Step 7: Practice with Focus and Experiment
The final step in Service's framework emphasizes the importance of focused practice and a willingness to experiment with different approaches.
Service points out that we often fall into routines when working towards our goals, even if these routines aren't particularly effective. For example, we might consistently fail to go to the gym after work, yet keep trying the same approach. He argues that we need to be more critical about which strategies actually work for us.
Research shows that successful people often engage in focused practice. Service cites a study of children in spelling bees that compared different practice methods. While some children used fun word games or were quizzed by parents, those who invested time in focused, solitary study of words were much more likely to succeed in the competition. This highlights the value of dedicated, concentrated effort in mastering a skill or achieving a goal.
However, Service also emphasizes that we often can't predict what approach will work best until we try it. He encourages readers to experiment with different strategies to find what works for them.
To illustrate this point, Service shares an experiment he conducted to encourage organ donation registration. His team tested eight different web pages, each with a different message or design. Surprisingly, the page they thought would be most effective - featuring a photo of smiling people and a message about thousands of people registering daily - actually decreased registrations. The most effective page simply asked, "If you needed an organ transplant would you have one? If so, please help others."
This example underscores the importance of testing different approaches rather than assuming we know what will work best. Service encourages readers to apply this experimental mindset to their own goals.
For instance, if you're trying to exercise more, you might try jogging before work for one month, then after work the next month, to see which schedule works better for you. If you're trying to save money, you could try saving a fixed sum for a few months, then switch to avoiding specific expenditures (like daily coffee purchases) to see which approach is more effective.
By being open to experimentation and willing to adjust our strategies based on results, we can find the most effective path to our goals. This flexibility, combined with focused practice, can significantly increase our chances of success.
Service emphasizes that this experimental approach should be ongoing. As we make progress towards our goals, our circumstances and challenges may change. By continually assessing what's working and what isn't, and being willing to adjust our strategies accordingly, we can stay on track even as conditions evolve.
Conclusion: Small Changes, Big Results
"Think Small" offers a refreshing perspective on goal achievement. Instead of focusing on grand gestures or dramatic lifestyle overhauls, Service advocates for the power of small, strategic changes in our behavior and mindset.
Throughout the book, Service emphasizes that understanding the nuances of human behavior can help us achieve significant things. From setting clear, well-defined goals to getting regular feedback on our progress, these small tweaks to our approach can have a profound impact on our ability to reach our objectives.
The seven-step framework presented in the book provides a comprehensive guide for anyone looking to make meaningful changes in their life:
- Set the right goal
- Simplify the rules and embrace habits
- Make your goal public and appoint a referee
- Use the right incentives
- Harness the power of social support
- Get actionable feedback and compare your progress
- Practice with focus and experiment
Each of these steps is grounded in behavioral science research, offering readers practical, evidence-based strategies for success.
One of the key takeaways from "Think Small" is the importance of aligning our goals and strategies with human nature, rather than fighting against it. By understanding our tendencies towards social conformity, habit formation, and loss aversion, we can create environments and systems that make it easier to stick to our plans and achieve our objectives.
Service also emphasizes the value of flexibility and experimentation. While the book offers a wealth of strategies and techniques, it also encourages readers to test different approaches and find what works best for their unique situations and personalities.
Perhaps most importantly, "Think Small" reminds us that achieving big things doesn't always require big actions. Often, it's the accumulation of small, consistent efforts that lead to significant results. By focusing on making small, manageable changes and sticking with them over time, we can gradually work our way towards even our most ambitious goals.
In a world that often glorifies "thinking big," Service's approach offers a practical, achievable alternative. By thinking small - focusing on the details of our behavior and making incremental improvements - we can set ourselves up for big successes.
As you apply the principles from "Think Small" to your own life, remember that change is a process. Be patient with yourself, celebrate small victories along the way, and don't be afraid to adjust your approach as you learn what works best for you. With persistence and the right strategies, even your biggest goals can be within reach.