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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
James Clear
Read between
June 10 - July 20, 2021
A habit is a routine or behavior that is performed regularly—and, in many cases, automatically.
I hope you’ll forgive me if this sounds boastful.
changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.
Why Tiny Changes Make a Big Difference
1% BETTER EVERY DAY 1% worse every day for one year. 0.99365 = 00.03 1% better every day for one year. 1.01365 = 37.78
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It is only when looking back two, five, or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent.
A single decision is easy to dismiss.
Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.
Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.
YOUR HABITS CAN COMPOUND FOR YOU OR AGAINST YOU
Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash a major change.
FORGET ABOUT GOALS, FOCUS ON SYSTEMS INSTEAD
Eventually, I began to realize that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed.
Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.
Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
Problem #2: Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.
Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.
Problem #4: Goals are at odds with long-term progress.
The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run. Habits are a double-edged sword. They can work for you or against you, which is why understanding the details is essential. Small changes often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold. The most powerful outcomes of any compounding process are delayed. You need to be patient. An atomic habit is a little habit that is part of a larger system. Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable
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How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa)
Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.
The first layer is changing your outcomes.
The second layer is changing your process.
The third and deepest layer is changing your identity.
The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.
True behavior change is identity change.
The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader. The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner. The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.
Your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity.
THE TWO-STEP PROCESS TO CHANGING YOUR IDENTITY
Each habit is like a suggestion: “Hey, maybe this is who I am.”
It is a simple two-step process: Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
feedback loops. Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.
“Are you becoming the type of person you want to become?”
Chapter Summary There are three levels of change: outcome change, process change, and identity change. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. Your identity emerges out of your habits. Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity. The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your
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How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps
“behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated and those that produce unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated.”
Habits are mental shortcuts learned from experience.
We chase rewards because they serve two purposes: (1) they satisfy us and (2) they teach us.
In summary, the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue. Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop—cue, craving, response, reward; cue, craving, response, reward—that ultimately allows you to create automatic habits. This cycle is known as the habit loop.
THE FOUR LAWS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE
Chapter Summary A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. The ultimate purpose of habits is to solve the problems of life with as little energy and effort as possible. Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward. The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.
The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
THE HABITS SCORECARD
To create your own, make a list of your daily habits.
Chapter Summary With enough practice, your brain will pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it. Once our habits become automatic, we stop paying attention to what we are doing. The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them. Pointing-and-Calling raises your level of awareness from a nonconscious habit to a more conscious level by verbalizing your actions. The Habits Scorecard is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior.
The Best Way to Start a New Habit
Broadly speaking, the format for creating an implementation intention is: “When situation X arises, I will perform response Y.”
