Valinvest Blog + News: With Love and Extra Yogurt

The Tiny Yogurt Habit That Shifted Everything (And How One Habit Can Change Your Entire Life)

A funny thing happens when you've spent two decades studying human transformation: You realize that most people think they need a life overhaul…
when what they really need is a 2-degree shift.

A tiny habit.
A micro-adjustment.
A new pattern so small it almost feels insignificant.

But these tiny shifts?
They don't stay tiny.
They cascade.

They compound.

They quietly reroute your destiny.

This is an article about my strange kitchen habits. But for many of you, it might lead to a life-changing shift.

This is the great secret behind the Six Phase Meditation, Habit of Ferocity, and every Quest inside Mindvalley.

Your life doesn't transform through force.

It transforms through micro-systems—small actions that repeat until your future becomes inevitable.

And recently, my body reminded me of this truth in a very real way.

The Wake-Up Call in My Waistline

In April this year, I spent seven beautiful weeks traveling between Malaysia and the United States.
Time with family.
Amazing conversations.
New experiences.
And, of course… extraordinary food.

But while my spirit was expanding, something else was expanding too.

After two weeks in Malaysia and five weeks in the U.S., I had added…
seven centimeters to my waistline.

Seven centimeters.
On a 49-year-old man who uses tech, meditation, biohacking, and longevity science to stay optimized.

By the time I returned to Europe in June, half my pants were negotiating early retirement packages.
My conclusion?

"It must be American food.
And Malaysian food.
And maybe my relationship with curry laksa."

And so—being the AI geek that I am—I decided to test a theory:

If my body changed this fast, maybe I was missing something my brain couldn't see…
but an AI could.

So I built an AI for myself.
A private little food-logging companion that analyzed everything I ate.
Every meal is photographed.
Every nutrient tracked.
Every pattern is analyzed.

And on Day 5, the AI said something unexpected:

"I'm noticing that you are severely deficient in fiber."

It explained that 95% of men don't get enough fiber.
That fiber affects everything: gut health, weight loss, emotional stability, blood sugar, immunity, skin, sleep, even brain performance.
And that both Malaysian and American cuisines are notoriously low in fiber.

Then it suggested a tiny change:

"Add yogurt with blueberries, banana, chia seeds, and psyllium husk to your breakfast."

Just once a day. Just one habit.

I was skeptical.
I eat low-carb.
A banana? Yogurt? Wasn't that going to blow up my macros?

But I tried it anyway.

And then something shocking happened:

I started losing one centimeter of waistline per week.

In six weeks, my waist was back to where it was before my trip.
My pants forgave me.
I forgave America.

The benefits didn't stop there:

My skin looked better
My hair got healthier
My energy and mood lifted
My focus sharpened
My workouts improved
My sleep deepened

From one tiny habit. One three-minute change. One micro-shift that changed everything.

As proof this is my waist line chart from my Apple Health kit. Notice the big spike? Then the big drop? The drop occurred when I started this habit.

Notice the spike. And then the drop? This is now my Fibre kit in my kitchen.

But this is more than just about the glories of Yogurt. It's about the power of habits.

Tiny Habits Aren't Just Physical…

They Change Your Identity

There's another powerful force working behind the scenes when you install a new habit—
and this is where the real magic happens.

Every time you take on a healthy habit, you're not just changing your behavior.
You're upgrading your self-identity.

Psychologists call this the Identity Shift Effect: Every action you take becomes a vote for the person you believe yourself to be.

Start adding fiber daily and suddenly…

You're no longer someone who "tries to be healthy."

You're someone who is healthy.

You're no longer reacting to circumstance.
You're proving to your brain:

"I am the kind of person who takes action for my own wellbeing."

This is one of the greatest transformations a human being can experience—
the shift from victim-of-reality to co-creator-of-reality.

And science supports this beautifully.

Study #1 – Harvard's "Small-Wins Effect"

Research from Harvard Business School shows that even tiny wins—small progress on goals—create a powerful neurochemical cascade of dopamine and motivation.

This becomes a self-reinforcing loop:

You take one small positive action
Your brain rewards you
That reward gives you the motivation to take the next action
And that momentum becomes a chain reaction

A spoon of chia seeds. A 10-second breath. One stretch. One glass of water.

Each one is a "small win" that rewires your biology for progress.

Study #2 – Stanford's BJ Fogg and the Habit Cascade

Stanford behavioral scientist BJ Fogg discovered this in his groundbreaking "Tiny Habits" research:

Small habits don't stay small.
They expand horizontally and vertically.
One tiny habit creates a ripple that triggers the next…and the next…and the next.

This is called the Habit Cascade.

My yogurt habit led to:

More veggies
A fiber-rich fridge
Daily veggie shakes
Better workouts
More mental clarity
A return to my ideal waistline
Better energy and sleep
Better creativity and productivity

One habit → many upgrades.

Because once your identity shifts, your behavior follows.
Once your behavior shifts, your environment follows.
Once your environment shifts, your future expands.

This is the real secret.

The Real Magic of Tiny Habits

They are doable.
Repeatable.
Identity-shifting.
Momentum-creating.
And they create exponential results over time.

And this is exactly why Mindvalley was designed the way it is.

Why Mindvalley Membership Works

You Don't Just Learn—You Transform Through Habits

Every Mindvalley Quest is built around habit installation.
It's not about binge-watching content…
it's about installing micro-habits that rewire your life.

Think about it:

If one tiny habit changed my waistline, my energy, my mood, my focus, and my overall wellbeing…

What happens when you're introduced to:

10 tiny habits from Lifebook
20 tiny habits from WildFit
15 tiny habits from the Six Phase Meditation
10 tiny habits from Ben Greenfield
20 tiny habits from HoloBody
10 tiny habits from Breathwork
Dozens more from Silva Ultramind, relationships, business, longevity…

Not every habit will stick. Not every habit will be your thing.
That's normal.

But the right ones? The ones that land at the right moment in your life?

Those will transform you.

This is why Mindvalley is powerful:
It doesn't give you a single path.
It gives you a library of identity-shifting micro-habits—so YOU can design the life that fits your biology, your psychology, your soul.

And if there's ever a moment to join…

Your Black Friday Deal Is Here — And This Is Our Biggest Unlock of the Year

This week, you get:

Every Quest
Every program
Every meditation
Every transformation method
The newest releases
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The world's best teachers
Live talks and workshops
And a global community that rewires you by proximity

…at the lowest price we offer all year (and you get to lock in this price FOR LIFE).

This is the only time you can secure a Mindvalley Membership at this price… because next year, the price goes up — and this offer you're seeing disappears forever on Sat Nov 29.

Go here to lock in your Mindvalley Membership at 50% off for life
(Yes, you can start your 15-day risk-free trial)

But the real value isn't the content. It's not even the community.

It's the habits. The micro-shifts.

The identity upgrades. The tiny decisions that compound into destiny.

My fibre habit took 3 minutes a day. And it transformed everything.

Imagine what happens when you start experimenting with the thousands of tiny habits waiting for you inside Mindvalley.

Mindvalley has evolved rapidly in the past 20 years in areas of health, wealth, relationships, AI, manifesting, entrepreneurship, and more, serving you the best of what the self-growth industry can offer.

We bear witness to how lives can change, with ease – at an accelerated speed, when we read 25,000+ case studies from our +1 Million strong tribe of Mindvalley Members.

Now, this is the season we welcome you to transform your life.

One micro-habit at a time in any area of your life that you wish to.

P.S. Reading your reflections always inspires me. Come share your favorite tiny habit or biggest takeaway from this story in the comments — I'll be reading.

With love—and extra yogurt,

Vishen