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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
James Clear
Read between
January 1 - January 4, 2023
People often choose products not because of what they are, but because of where they are.
Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.
For example, items at eye level tend to be purchased more than those down near the floor.
The same goes for end caps, which are the units at the end of aisles.
The truth, however, is that many of the actions we take each day are shaped not by purposeful drive and choice but by the most obvious option.
visual cues are the greatest catalyst of our behavior.
When their energy use was obvious and easy to track, people changed their behavior.9 Every habit is initiated by a cue, and we are more likely to notice cues that stand out.
people changed their behavior.9 Every habit is initiated by a cue, and we are more likely to notice cues that stand out.
If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment. The most persistent behaviors usually have multiple cues. Consider how many different ways a smoker could be prompted to pull out a cigarette: driving in the car, seeing a friend smoke, feeling stressed at work, and so on.
Consider how many different ways a smoker could be prompted to pull out a cigarette: driving in the car, seeing a friend smoke, feeling stressed at work, and so
Make sure the best choice is the most obvious one.
The cues that trigger a habit can start out very specific, but over time your habits become associated not with a single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior.
We mentally assign our habits to the locations in which they occur: the home, the office, the gym. Each location develops a connection to certain habits and routines. You establish a particular relationship with the objects on your desk, the items on your kitchen counter, the things in your bedroom.
Stop thinking about your environment as filled with objects. Start thinking about it as filled with relationships. Think in terms of how you interact with the spaces around you.
You can train yourself to link a particular habit with a particular context.
It is easier to associate a new habit with a new context than to build a new habit in the face of competing cues.
Want to think more creatively? Move to a bigger room, a rooftop patio, or a building with expansive architecture. Take a break from the space where you do your daily work, which is also linked to your current thought patterns.
When you can’t manage to get to an entirely new environment, redefine or rearrange your current one. Create a separate space for work, study, exercise, entertainment, and cooking.
“One space, one use.”
A few years later, I could finally afford to move to a home with a separate room for my office. Suddenly, work was something that happened “in here” and personal life was something that happened “out there.”
Whenever possible, avoid mixing the context of one habit with another. When you start mixing contexts, you’ll start mixing habits—and the easier ones will usually win out.
when you can use your phone to do nearly anything, it becomes hard to associate it with one task. You want to be productive, but you’re also conditioned to browse social media, check email, and play video games whenever you open your phone. It’s a mishmash of cues.
If your space is limited, divide your room into activity zones: a chair for reading, a desk for writing, a table for eating.
You can do the same with your digital spaces. I know a writer who uses his computer only for writing, his tablet only for reading, and his phone only for social media and texting. Every habit should have a home.
A stable environment where everything has a place and a purpose is an environment where habits can easily form.
Small changes in context can lead to large changes in behavior over time. ■ Every habit is initiated by a cue. We are more likely to notice cues that stand out. ■ Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment. ■ Gradually, your habits become associated not with a single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior. The context becomes the cue. ■ It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting against old cues.
When scientists analyze people who appear to have tremendous self-control, it turns out those individuals aren’t all that different from those who are struggling. Instead, “disciplined” people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control. In other words, they spend less time in tempting situations.
perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment.
Bad habits are autocatalytic: the process feeds itself. They foster the feelings they try to numb.
Researchers refer to this phenomenon as “cue-induced wanting”: an external trigger causes a compulsive craving to repeat a bad habit. Once you notice something, you begin to want it.
You can break a habit, but you’re unlikely to forget it.
simply resisting temptation is an ineffective strategy.
One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it. ■ If you can’t seem to get any work done, leave your phone in another room for a few hours.
The inversion of the 1st Law of Behavior Change is make it invisible. ■ Once a habit is formed, it is unlikely to be forgotten. ■ People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it. ■ One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it. ■ Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.
The 1st Law Make It Obvious 1.1 Fill out the Habits Scorecard. Write down your current habits to become aware of them. 1.2 Use implementation intentions: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” 1.3 Use habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” 1.4 Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible. The 2nd Law Make It Attractive The 3rd Law Make It Easy The 4th Law Make It Satisfying
It’s like the brain of each animal is preloaded with certain rules for behavior, and when it comes across an exaggerated version of that rule, it lights up like a Christmas tree. Scientists refer to these exaggerated cues as supernormal stimuli. A supernormal stimulus is a heightened version of reality—like a beak with three red dots or an egg the size of a volleyball—and it
With natural, unprocessed foods, you tend to experience the same sensations over and over—how’s that seventeenth bite of kale taste? After a few minutes, your brain loses interest and you begin to feel full. But foods that are high in dynamic contrast keep the experience novel and interesting, encouraging you to eat more.
Society is filled with highly engineered versions of reality that are more attractive than the world our ancestors evolved in. Stores feature mannequins with exaggerated hips and breasts to sell clothes. Social media delivers more “likes” and praise in a few minutes than we could ever get in the office or at home.
The trend is for rewards to become more concentrated and stimuli to become more enticing. Junk food is a more concentrated form of calories than natural foods. Hard liquor is a more concentrated form of alcohol than beer. Video games are a more concentrated form of play than board games. Compared to nature, these pleasure-packed experiences are hard to resist.
Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop.
When it comes to habits, the key takeaway is this: dopamine is released not only when you experience pleasure, but also when you anticipate
Whenever you predict that an opportunity will be rewarding, your levels of dopamine spike in anticipation. And whenever dopamine rises, so does your motivation to act.17
It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take action. Interestingly, the reward system that is activated in the brain when you receive a reward is the same system that is activated when you anticipate a reward.18
Scientists refer to this as the difference between “wanting” and “liking.”
Your brain has far more neural circuitry allocated for wanting rewards than for liking them.
Every action is taken because of the anticipation that precedes it. It is the craving that leads to the response.
This is where a strategy known as temptation bundling comes into play.
Temptation bundling works by linking an action you want to do with an action you need to do. In Byrne’s case, he bundled watching Netflix (the thing he wanted to do) with riding his stationary bike (the thing he needed to do).
The habit stacking + temptation bundling formula is: After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT]. If you want to read the news, but you need to express more gratitude: After I get my morning coffee, I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened yesterday (need). After I say one thing I’m grateful for, I will read the news (want). If you want to watch sports, but you need to make sales calls: After I get back from my lunch break, I will call three potential clients (need). After I call three potential clients, I will check ESPN (want). If you
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The 2nd Law of Behavior Change is make it attractive. ■ The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming. ■ Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop. When dopamine rises, so does our motivation to act. ■ It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take action. The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike. ■ Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
