Feb. 21, 2026

Episode 84 | How to Build Habits When You’re Overwhelmed: The Power of Micro-Actions

Episode 84 | How to Build Habits When You’re Overwhelmed: The Power of Micro-Actions
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In this episode of the Lead with Hope Podcast, Dr. Brandi Kelly tackles one of the most common leadership and personal development struggles: how to build habits when you’re overwhelmed.

If you’ve ever tried to start a new routine, improve your mindfulness, strengthen resilience, or follow through on goals — only to feel stuck — this episode is for you.

Rooted in behavioral science and inspired by principles from Atomic Habits, Brandi introduces the power of micro actions — tiny, consistent changes that create massive long-term impact.

You don’t need more willpower.You just need a tiny anchor.

Instead of chasing dramatic overhauls, you’ll learn how habit stacking makes new behaviors obvious and easy by anchoring them to routines you already do every day. Small change leads to momentum. Momentum builds resilience. Resilience sustains leadership.

In this episode, you’ll discover how to:

• Use micro actions to build sustainable habits• Apply habit stacking to strengthen goal setting• Practice 60-second mindfulness routines• Avoid burnout through consistency• Adopt the powerful mindset: never miss twice

Micro actions are the secret weapon of resilient leaders. Shrink your goals. Anchor them. Stack them. Start today.


Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Overcoming Overwhelm01:42 – The Power of Micro Actions03:45 – Habit Stacking for Success05:56 – The Challenge of Micro Actions06:43 – EmpowerHER Mastermind Announcement08:24 – Core HOPE Habits for Clarity09:27 – Embracing Leadership and Hope


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Join the Spark HOPE Community here:
👉 https://sparkhopeedu.com/drbrandikelly-4049


Find your tiny anchor.Stack your micro action.And lead with H.O.P.E.


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Welcome back to the Lead with
Hope podcast.

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I'm your host Brandy Kelly, and
I want to start today's episode

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with a question.
Have you ever felt completely

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paralyzed by the idea of
starting something new, of

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building a brand new habit?
Maybe as 2026 started, you

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wanted to exercise every day, or
maybe your goal was to write a

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book.
Maybe it was something more

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practical, like getting for
mornings under control, but just

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the sheer size of that goal felt
overwhelming.

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Well, you're not alone.
Before we jump in, a quick thank

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you to Craig Williams, Founder
of Commissary, our legacy

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00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,520
partner.
If you have ever felt like your

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story, your message, or your
brand needs clarity, Commissary

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exists to help you with exactly
that.

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00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,040
They work with people who want
their voice to reflect their

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values and their purpose.
You can find their link in

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today's show notes and on the
Spark Hope website.

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Thanks to Commissary for their
belief in the power of story to

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create connection, clarity and
hope.

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One of the biggest searchable
problems for so many busy

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leaders today is simply how to
build habits when you're

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overwhelmed.
We often think that we need to

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summon incredible willpower for
a total overhaul, A dramatic,

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life altering change, but that
is simply just not true.

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You do not need more willpower
to build great habits.

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What you need is a tiny anchor.
You just need a tiny anchor.

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And today we're going to dive
into what I call the power of

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micro actions.
It's a secret weapon that

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resilient leaders use who don't
have time for this complete

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overhaul.
This concept is anchored deeply

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in our habits pillar and it's
all about making small changes

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continually, and it is quite
easy when you look at it.

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This idea that small change
leads to massive results is a

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core principle of modern
behavioral science popularized

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by James Clear in his book
Atomic Habits.

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Clear's entire philosophy is
built on the power of tiny 1%

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improvements, and it's the
application of the Kaizen

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method, or small continuous
improvement.

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Clear also gives us a simple,
powerful framework.

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He talks about the four laws of
behavior change.

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Make it obvious, make it
attractive, make it easy and

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make it satisfying.
Our micro actions strategy that

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I'm going to talk to you about
today, it directly applies to

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two of these laws.
Make it obvious and make it

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easy.
We need that easy button in our

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lives and this is where the
technique of habit stacking

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comes in.
James Clear writes that the best

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way to build a new habit is to
figure out when and where it's

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going to happen.
Be specific.

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Our problem usually is that we
try to build this new habit in a

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vacuum, and that just simply
doesn't work.

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So habit stacking is a formula
that makes this habit something

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like after a current habit that
you're doing something you're

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already doing.
Today I will add this new micro

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action.
This is the entire philosophy

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behind the micro action.
We're not asking you to carve

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out thirty extra minutes every
day.

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We're just asking you to
identify one small existing

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habit that you can stack your
most desired new action onto.

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So for instance, something that
I might use is my existing habit

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of making coffee or brushing my
teeth or in the morning, sitting

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down at my desk.
That is the tiny anchor for the

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new behavior.
Very simple.

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Now to see this in action, I'm
going to share a quick story

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with you.
I recently worked with a

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principal and I'm going to call
him Marcus for his privacy.

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Marcus was completely burnt.
He believed that he needed an

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entire overhaul in order to
improve his leadership presence,

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and one of the goals that he
wanted to start implementing was

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meditation.
His goal was 30 minutes of

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meditation every morning.
And guess what?

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Every morning he failed,
something got in the way.

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He felt guilty, he felt
defeated.

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His biggest problem was trying
to build this new habit in a

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vacuum.
It didn't have an anchor.

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And when we talked, his morning
was already filled with things

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that he had to do.
Things like what I was talking

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about earlier, making coffee,
brushing your teeth, checking

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your emails, all of those non
negotiables.

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So we applied the formula that I
mentioned previously and I asked

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him to try this micro routine
instead.

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After I turn on my Keurig to
make my first cup of coffee in

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the morning, I'm just going to
take 162nd.

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A tiny anchor, a simple starting
place and that's it.

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It took one minute a day.
The new habit of mindfulness was

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now stacked onto an existing
habit, making it incredibly

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easy.
It didn't require willpower,

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just a simple shift in timing.
And within two weeks, Marcus was

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consistently taking that minute
long breath, wasn't meditating

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for 30 minutes, but he was
successfully stacking a new

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behavior.
And this is what he realized.

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You don't need more willpower to
build great habits, you just

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need a tiny anchor.
So this is your challenge for

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this week.
Think about a goal and shrink it

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down until it feels almost
ridiculous.

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If you want to write more, the
goal may be after I open my

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laptop, I'm going to type 1
sentence.

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If you want to be more present
with your team before I speak in

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a in a meeting, I will place my
pin down and count to three.

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Remember the powerful Reframe
example micro actions, our

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secret weapons of resilient
leaders.

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We're not looking for perfection
here.

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We're just looking for
consistency and the goal is to

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never miss twice.
Let me say that again, the goal

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is never miss twice.
That small recovery is what

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builds long term identity and
resilience.

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Before we wrap up today, I do
have a quick announcement for

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all you leaders who are ready to
take the next step in your

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development.
Join us for the next Empower Her

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Mastermind session.
We're bringing together a select

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group of resilient women leaders
for a powerful session on

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scaling your influence without
compromising your well-being.

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So don't miss out on this
community event.

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You can find the sign up link in
the show notes of this episode.

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Secure your spot today.
Let's pause for just a moment

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because I want to tell you about
a partner who truly aligns with

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the heart of this podcast.
Commissary here on Lead With

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Hope, we talk a lot about
clarity.

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Clarity of purpose, clarity of
voice, and clarity of direction.

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And that is exactly where
Commissary comes in.

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They help leaders, educators,
and change makers uncover the

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story behind their work and
share it in a way that feels

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honest, meaningful, and deeply
aligned with who they are.

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If you have ever felt the nudge
to write a book, refine your

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message, or build a brand that
actually reflects your values,

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not just your resume, Commissary
doesn't rush you or box you in.

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They walk alongside you, helping
you Share your story with

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intention and integrity.
You can learn more by clicking

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00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,920
their link in the show notes or
visiting them through the Spark

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00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,720
Hope website.
A big thank you to Craig

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Williams and Commissary for
being a legacy sponsor of this

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podcast and for investing in
stories that matter.

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Because when we share our
stories, when we share them with

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clarity and with hope, real
change happens.

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This entire approach aligns with
one of our core hope pillar

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connections habits.
These are the three hope habits

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to lead with clarity that I'm
going to give you today.

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Hope habit #1 anchor.
Stop trying to build habits in

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thin air.
Anchor them to an existing non

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negotiable habits.
Hope habit #2 shrink.

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Don't start so big.
Shrink that habit down to a 2

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minute version of the behavior
and start there.

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Hope habit three stack.
Use the formula after a current

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habit.
I will start implementing this

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new this week.
Identify your one small existing

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habit that you can stack your
most desired new action on to.

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And don't worry about that total
overhaul.

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Just find the tiny anchor, stack
the next small piece of change

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onto it, and that's all.
Now go find your micro action

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and I'll talk to you next week.
That's a wrap for today's

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episode of Lead With Hope.
Remember, the world needs your

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leadership and change starts
with you.

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Fuel your life with hope,
embrace your purpose, and shine

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your light for others.
If this episode inspired you,

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I'd be so grateful if you could
take a moment to give us a five

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00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,720
star rating and share it.
Every review helps spread hope

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and empowers more leaders to
rise.

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Thanks for listening and until
next time, keep leading with

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hope.