The Domino Effect: One Tiny Habit Can Transform Your Life

Feb 8, 2026

By Will Moore

In 1983, a physicist named Lorne Whitehead at the University of British Columbia demonstrated something remarkable. A single domino just two inches tall could knock over another domino one-and-a-half times its size. That slightly bigger domino could topple an even larger one. And so on.

Years later, physicist Stephen Morris at the University of Toronto took the concept further. He calculated that starting with a domino the size of a Tic Tac, it would take only 13 progressively-larger dominoes to topple something the height of the Empire State Building.

Thirteen. That's it.

This is the domino principle in action — and it doesn't just apply to physics. It applies to your habits, your goals, and ultimately, your entire life.

I experienced this firsthand. For years, I struggled with ADHD and felt stuck in a cycle of underperformance and self-doubt. Then I stumbled onto a single small behavior change that flipped everything: I learned the Pareto Principle. The idea that 80% of results come from 20% of effort — and applied it to my studying. Instead of trying to absorb everything, I zeroed in on the material that mattered most. My grades shot up. I graduated with honors. That one shift in how I approached learning created a chain reaction that rippled into my confidence, my career, my relationships, and eventually led me to spend 30+ years studying the science of behavior change and building a system to help others do the same.

One tiny domino. Massive results. A real world example of how small changes lead to big results as explained in our guide on using the compound effect to create unstoppable momentum.

In this article, you'll learn exactly how to harness the domino effect to create lasting change in your own life — and more importantly, how to sustain that progress once the first dominoes start falling.

Upgrades You'll Receive:

The science behind why small changes create disproportionately large results
The 3 rules of the domino principle that make habit transformation inevitable
7 actionable strategies to tap your first domino today
Proven methods for sustaining momentum so your progress never stalls

What Is the Domino Effect? (And Why It Matters for Your Habits)

Here's a simple domino effect definition: it's the principle that one small behavior or action triggers a cascade of related changes, building momentum over time until the cumulative impact far exceeds the initial effort.

Before we go further; a quick clarification many people search for: is it domino affect or effect? It's "effect" with an "e." Effect is the noun (the result), while affect is the verb (to influence). So the domino effect describes the result of that first action setting everything else in motion.

Now, here's where it gets exciting for personal growth.

Behavioral psychology research shows that habits rarely exist in isolation. When someone starts exercising consistently, they tend to eat better. When they eat better, they sleep more soundly. Better sleep leads to sharper focus at work, which builds confidence, which improves relationships. Scientists call this multiple behavior change and it works exactly like a long line of dominoes falling one after another.

The key insight? You don't need to overhaul your entire life. You just need to find the right first step and tap it.

The 3 Rules of the Domino Effect

Rule 1: Start With the Smallest Domino

The biggest mistake people make is starting too big. They try to overhaul their diet, launch a business, and train for a marathon — all in the same week. Then they burn out and wonder why nothing sticks.

The domino principle says the opposite: start absurdly small. BJ Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford, calls this the two-minute rule — scale any habit down until it takes two minutes or less. Want to read more? Start with one page. Want to meditate? Start with three deep breaths. The tiny first step matters more than the size of the goal because it's what gets the chain reaction started.

Rule 2: Each Domino Must Be Slightly Bigger Than the Last

Remember Whitehead's experiment? Each domino was just one-and-a-half times the size of the one before it. Not double. Not triple. Just slightly larger.

In habit formation, this means building in incremental progress. Once your two-minute habit feels automatic, stretch it to five minutes. Then ten. This progressive approach builds your capacity without overwhelming your willpower, creating sustainable momentum instead of burnout.

Rule 3: Maintain the Spacing (Commitment and Consistency)

Dominoes only topple each other when they're properly aligned and spaced. Remove one, and the cascade stalls.

Your spacing is daily discipline and consistency. Knocking down each domino means showing up — even imperfectly — day after day. Miss a day and the chain reaction loses energy. String together enough consistent days, and the momentum becomes almost impossible to stop.

7 Ways to Trigger Your Own Domino Effect

1. Identify Your "First Domino" Habit

Not all habits are created equal. Some are keystone habits. One change that naturally triggers improvement in other areas. Ask yourself: what's the single small behavior that, if I nailed it consistently, would make everything else easier? That's your first domino. Find it, and you've found your launchpad.

2. Make It Obvious and Attractive

Design your environment so the desired behavior is impossible to ignore. Want to drink more water? Put a full bottle on your desk before bed. Want to journal? Leave the notebook open on your pillow. Remove the triggers for old habits and place cues for new ones front and center. When a habit is the most visible and appealing option in your environment, friction drops to nearly zero.

3. Make It Easy: Shrink the First Step

Apply the two-minute rule to everything. Lay out your gym clothes the night before. Pre-chop your vegetables on Sunday. Automate your savings. The goal isn't perfection — it's tapping the first domino. Once you're in motion, momentum takes over.

4. Make It Fun and Rewarding

Here's what most self-help advice gets wrong: it makes change feel like punishment. But your brain runs on dopamine. When something feels good, you want more of it — simple as that.

So pair your new habit with something enjoyable. Listen to your favorite podcast only while exercising. Reward yourself with a small treat after completing a study session. Turn progress tracking into a game — points, streaks, and mini-celebrations. When building habits feels rewarding, discipline becomes almost automatic.

5. Always Know Your Next Task

One of the biggest reasons the domino effect stalls is ambiguity. You finish one task and then freeze — unsure what comes next. That pause kills momentum.

The fix? Before you complete any behavior, define your next task. Finish a workout? Immediately set tomorrow's alarm and lay out your clothes. Complete a work project? Spend two minutes writing down the first action step of the next one. This creates a seamless bridge between each domino, so one naturally tips into the next without hesitation. Think of it like pre-positioning each domino in the line before the previous one falls.

Research shows that physically recorded progress and publicly reported progress dramatically increase follow-through. Write down your daily wins. Share your streak with a friend, coach, or community of like-minded people working toward similar goals.

Here's why this works for sustaining momentum: when you can see the dominoes you've already knocked down, skipping a day feels like breaking a chain you've worked hard to build. And when others are watching — cheering you on, competing alongside you — the social accountability makes quitting far more costly than continuing.

7. Connect Each Domino to Your Identity

Identity based habits outlast goal-based ones every time. Instead of saying "I want to lose 20 pounds," say "I'm someone who moves their body every day." Instead of "I want to save money," try "I'm someone who builds wealth intentionally."

When your habits align with who you believe you are, each small behavior reinforces that identity. And a stronger identity cascades into bolder actions, bigger goals, and related behaviors you never planned but naturally adopt.

How to Sustain Progress Once the Dominoes Start Falling

Triggering the domino effect is one thing. Keeping it going is another. Here's how to make sure your chain reaction doesn't stall halfway through.

Build in checkpoints. Every week, review what's working and what's creating friction. A quick 5-minute reflection asking "which behaviors gained momentum this week and which ones stalled?" — lets you course-correct before a small stumble becomes a full stop. Check our detailed guide on Self Reflection Questions for Growth

Get a coach or accountability partner. The most successful people don't rely on willpower alone. A coach, mentor, or even a committed friend who checks in regularly creates an external momentum engine. When your internal motivation dips — and it will — that outside support keeps the dominoes falling.

The beauty of the domino effect is that sustaining it gets easier over time, not harder. Each domino that falls makes the next task more natural, more automatic, and more rewarding than the last.

Domino Effect Examples: What It Looks Like in Real Life

Example 1: A college student starts making her bed every morning. It takes 90 seconds. Within weeks, she notices her room stays cleaner, she procrastinates less on assignments, and her overall sense of control skyrockets. One tiny first step triggered a cascade of new behaviors she never consciously planned.

Example 2: My own story. One study technique — focusing on the 20% of material that drove 80% of results — toppled the last domino of academic failure and set off a chain reaction through confidence, career success, and eventually three decades of studying behavioral psychology and proven principles to help others trigger their own domino effect.

Just like those 13 dominoes that could theoretically topple the Empire State Building, your small behavior shifts compound into life-altering results when you let the momentum build.

Conclusion: Domino Effect

The domino effect isn't about massive overnight transformation. It's about one tiny first step — one absurdly small habit — that sets a chain reaction in motion across every area of your life.

You don't need to overhaul everything. You don't need more willpower, more time, or more motivation. You just need to find your first domino, tap it, and sustain the momentum with the right systems, support, and consistency.

The last domino will take care of itself.

🚀 READY TO FIND YOUR FIRST DOMINO AND WATCH THE CHAIN REACTION BEGIN?

Everything you just read — finding your keystone habit, making it obvious, easy, and fun, sustaining your momentum with tracking and accountability, letting the ripple spread across every area of your life — is built into the Moore Momentum System. It's a science-backed, AI-personalized, gamified platform designed to help you identify your most impactful first domino and turn that single tap into unstoppable momentum across all 5 Core Areas of your life.

Your next move? Take the free Core Values Quiz in under 60 seconds to discover which area of your life is ready for its first domino — and get a personalized roadmap to start the chain reaction.

Start Your Chain Reaction HERE!

🚀🚀🚀 Don't forget to check out our Resource Arcade 👾🎮 for FREE templates and tools to gamify your habits.