The 1% Better Rule

How Tiny Shifts Can Transform Your Life

Erika Karl

Mar 07, 2025

LOVING LATELY:

I’ve been taking Creatine for 2 weeks and I’m starting to see results: more muscle tone and faster recovery!
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I hit all my goals last year. Every single one.

The career milestones, the financial wins, the dream projects—I checked them all off. I should have been on top of the world. Instead, I felt…nothing. Not excited, not fulfilled, not even relieved. Just meh.

It scared me.

For the first time in my life, I had no next move. No dream I was reaching for, no grand vision pulling me forward. And if you know me, you know I always have an idea up my sleeve.

I started telling myself that I should just be grateful. That wanting more meant I wasn’t appreciating what I already had.

So, I stopped reaching.

I let myself exist in this weird in-between space where I wasn’t exactly unhappy, but I wasn’t alive either.

And then one day, I heard something that flipped everything on its head.

The Shift That Changed Everything

I was listening to a podcast when the guest said this:

“We are meant to continuously evolve—to keep striving for that next elevated version of ourselves. That’s the whole point. But at the same time if you’re stuck in the ‘I’ll be happy when’ mindset, you’ll be miserable your whole life.”

I realized I had been treating growth and gratitude as opposites when, in reality, they can (and should) exist together. You can be deeply grateful for where you are and still excited for what’s next. The two aren’t in conflict. In fact, they fuel each other.

So, instead of making some dramatic life overhaul, I asked myself: What if I just focused on getting 1% better every day?

The Power of Tiny Shifts

I started paying attention to my daily habits. The small, seemingly insignificant things I did every day that either pulled me toward my highest self—or kept me stuck in the same cycle.

Was I waking up early to move my body or scrolling on my phone until the last possible second?
Was I fueling myself with real, nourishing food or just grabbing whatever was quick and convenient?
Was I making time for micro-rituals that made me feel good, like breathwork, fresh air, or journaling?

The truth hit me hard: My daily habits were shaping my life more than any big milestone ever could.

So I started stacking tiny habits. Simple, doable shifts that fit seamlessly into my life:

Drinking 20oz of water before my coffee.
Charging my phone outside of my bedroom so I wasn’t glued to it before bed.
Turning work calls into walking meetings to get more movement in.
Adding a 5-minute breathwork session between tasks instead of mindless scrolling.

Nothing fancy. No expensive programs or extreme routines. Just small, intentional choices—over and over again.

And guess what? It worked.

Wellness Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

The biggest lie the wellness industry sells us is that transformation has to be hard. That if you’re not overhauling your entire life, you’re not doing enough.

But the real secret? The magic is in the micro-moments.

It’s in how you start your day.
It’s in the little rituals that make you feel like you.
It’s in the tiny choices that compound over time into a completely different reality.

And if you’re feeling like I was—stuck, uninspired, or like you’ve lost your spark—just start with one thing.

Pick one micro-shift you can commit to tomorrow. Something small, something easy, something that moves you 1% closer to the person you want to be. Then, just show up for yourself.

Every. Single. Day.

Let’s Do This Together

I’d love to hear from you—what’s your 1% shift? Comment below and let me know what small habit you’re committing to!

✨ Join me in the Hot to Hotter Challenge! We’re building better habits together. It’s not too late—sign up here.

🎥 Follow along on TikTok! I’m sharing my 1% Better habits every week. Come hang out: @erikakarl_

Erika