According to studies, January 19 is usually the date when New Year’s Resolutions get abandoned. That's why I chose to write mine today...
But seriously speaking, how do we get to form a new habit and stick to it? Stopping bad habits and implementing good ones seems to be a struggle to all of us.
James Clear's Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones is one of the best books that gives actionable advice on how we can live more effectively. While there is no new information in this book, this book gave a masterful job of synthesising and condensing information in a highly digestible and actionable series of steps!
Here are some of the great takeaways I learned from the book:
Goals are about the results that we want to achieve, but the systems are the process that lead us to those results. James Clear pointed out some few issues with goals:
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| How To Build New Habits |
But seriously speaking, how do we get to form a new habit and stick to it? Stopping bad habits and implementing good ones seems to be a struggle to all of us.
James Clear's Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones is one of the best books that gives actionable advice on how we can live more effectively. While there is no new information in this book, this book gave a masterful job of synthesising and condensing information in a highly digestible and actionable series of steps!
Here are some of the great takeaways I learned from the book:
How To Build New Habits
Incremental Changes Can Result In Massive Results.
Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. However the Effect of Compounding does not just apply to investments. Small 1% improvements in our lives compound to create astounding effects in our lives.
In illustration, if I improve 1% each day for a full year, I will end up 37 times better by the end of the year! As James says, HABITS ARE THE COMPOUND INTEREST OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT. While a one percent better or worse choice could seem insignificant to us, these countless moments add up to who we are day by day.
In illustration, if I improve 1% each day for a full year, I will end up 37 times better by the end of the year! As James says, HABITS ARE THE COMPOUND INTEREST OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT. While a one percent better or worse choice could seem insignificant to us, these countless moments add up to who we are day by day.
Success is a product of our daily habits - not once-in-a-lifetime transformations. This effect applies to both our positive and negative compounding.
When we automate an old task or master a new task - it allows us to handle more without thinking - allowing our brain to focus on other things. This is the same with knowledge - learning one idea does not earn us a degree, but a commitment to lifelong learning can make us excellent.
The downside of this is that negative self-talk compounds as well. The more we tell ourselves that we are not good enough, or unable - the more that we will interpret life through that lens and ingrain it further and further!
Understand that Progress Is Not Overnight.
James Clear hits the nail on the head when he described "breakthrough moments" as the result of many previous actions. You don't simply work out for one month and see a huge body transformation. Habits often appear to make no difference until we cross a critical threshold and unlock a new level of performance. He describes this Valley of Disappointment in the early and middle stages, where you are expecting to make linear progress. However, those most powerful outcomes are delayed.
To make a meaningful difference, habits must persist the Valley of Disappointment and cross the Plateau of Latent Potential.
You Fall To The Level Of Your System
You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.
While goals or inspiration motivate us, it will not carry us, but our systems will. If you are having trouble with changing your habits, the problem is not you but your system.The Problem With Goals
Goals are about the results that we want to achieve, but the systems are the process that lead us to those results. James Clear pointed out some few issues with goals:
- Winners and losers have the same goals. We concentrate on those who end up winning and mistakenly attribute their success to their ambitious goals - a textbook example of survivorship bias!
- Achieving a goal is only momentary change. When we solve problems at the results level, we only solve them temporarily. In order to have sustained improvement, we need to solve them at a systems level.
- Goals restrict happiness. The implicit assumption behind any goal is that once we reach the goal, then and only then can we be happy. You understand the concept of delayed gratification in reaching our goals. However goals create a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different - Either you achieve your goal and is successful or you fail and are a disappointment. However, if we love the process rather than the product, we don't have to wait to give ourselves permission to be happy.
Habits Shape Your Identity
3 Layers of Behavioural Changes Described by James Clear:
- Outcomes - Changing our outcomes would be something like losing weight. This operates on the level of goals.
- Processes - This second layer of changing your process would be something like implementing a new routine at the gym. This applies to changes in habits.
- Identity - This 3rd and deepest layer is changing identity. If you believe that you are a fit and athletic person, your behaviors and results will follow. This applies to changes in beliefs.
Changing our beliefs changes our identity and this is the most powerful agent of change.
To illustrate, take 2 people who are trying to quit smoking. When offered a cigarette, the first person says: "No thanks, I'm trying to quit. But the 2nd one says: "No thanks, I'm not a smoker." This is a small and subtle difference but this power of language is tremendous!
The goal is not to read a book but to become a reader. The goal is not to get an A in class but to become an excellent student. The goal is not to bike 100miles but to become a cyclist.
This could work for you, but it can also work against you. Be careful of saying things like you are bad at Math or that you are not a morning person. To get an A in Math or consistently wake up at 5am now results in cognitive dissonance and people hate contradicting themselves.
But how do we really get our desired identity to stick?
How Do You Change Your Identity
The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior. Each experience in life modifies our self-image. A vlogger would not consider himself a vlogger after uploading just one video. But after dozens and dozens of times uploading, his self-image will start to change. This is gradual evolution.
We don't change in one moment but rather we change bit by bit, day by day. habit by habit. The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do.
Everytime you write a page, you are a writer, and you are reinforcing this identity. But each time you engage in a bad habit, you are reinforcing that identity as well.
Changing Identity is a 2-Step Process.
1. Decide the Person You Want To Be.
2. Prove it to Yourself with Small wins to reinforce that identity.
Easier said than done... which brings us to the prescriptive method of the Atomic Habits Book - The 4 Laws. These are the actionable steps on how to actually change habits.
Habits 101
To understand how to change habits, it is important to understand first the purpose they serve.
The Purpose Of Habits
Habits are essentially autopilot scripts that our brain writes to decrease the cognitive load of solving recurring problems. The first time you walk into a new room, you spend significant effort figuring out where exactly it is. But after a couple of days, you no longer consciously even think about it.
Habits are essentially a memory of steps that solved a problem in the past. And whenever the conditions are right, you draw this memory and automatically apply the same solution.
By offsetting these functions to your subconscious, your conscious mind has more space and resources to address new stimuli.
Discipline Equals Freedom
Discipline and Systematic Habit Formation does not make life dull. Discipline is actually equal to Freedom. People without a grasp on their habits are those with the least amount of freedom. Without good financial habits, you will always be short on cash. Without healthy food and exercise habits, you will be constantly sluggish. Without good habits, you will always be behind the curve. With effective habits, you open up more time for yourself and your mind is free to focus on new challenges and new experiences.The Habit Cycle or Loop
Similar to the Habit Cycle proposed by Charles Duhigg in the Power of Habit, James Clear describes 4 Steps:
- Cue - triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. This indication triggers a
- Craving - which is the motivational force behind every habit.
- Response - is the actual behavior that is performed
- Reward - is the end goal of every habit.
The first 2 steps: Cue and Craving are the Problem Phase and the Last Two Steps: Response and Reward are the Solution Phase.
For Example:
Cue: You reached a difficult problem in your exam.
Craving: You feel stuck and you want to relieve your frustration.
Response: You pull out your phone and check instagram.
Reward: You satisfy your craving and you feel relieved.
Checking social media becomes associated with feeling frustrated or bored while studying.
UP NEXT:
4 Laws of the Habit Cycle Or Loop
How To Implement Good Habits and Eliminate Bad Habits