Atomic Habits by James Clear there is too much to unload from this book into a short video like this
but I really wanted to touch on a few things in this book that I found really interesting as we go
along in this video I will be sharing information and quotes from the book about Atomic habits and
the surprising power of tiny habits that I found really insightful some of us put off forming good
habits because we find it too hard or we don't see progress quick enough we try to change habits
but feel like we are failing and so we give up and if I'm honest this has happened to me a number of
times but before we get started I would appreciate if you could subscribe and like my channel
too often we convince ourselves that massive results require Massive Action but that isn't
the case James Clear talks about the one percent rule so you work on getting one percent better
every day by the end of that year you will be 37 times better because of the power of
compound need habits are the compound interest of self-improvement so let's draw a graph on
one side we label it results on the other side we label a tone and we start at one
so if you get one percent better every day for one year the compound of that effort will make
you 37.78 times better but if you get one percent worse every day for a year it will bring you close
to zero time magnifies the margin between success and failure it will multiply whatever you feed it
most of us think when we start trying to get better each day our trajectory should look
like this it should go up in a linear fashion however that's not the case the results of our
efforts are often delayed at first our progress is quite slow it feels like we are going nowhere
in fact this area here is referred to the valley of disappointment it's not until months or years
later that we realize the true value of the previous work we have done all big things come
from Small Beginnings if you find yourself struggling to build a good habit or break
a bad one it's not because you have lost your ability to improve it's often because you have
not yet crossed the plateau of latent potential this is the lag of time between what you think
should happen and what actually happens one of the examples James brings forward is complaining about
not achieving success despite working hard is like complaining about an ice cube not melting when you
have heated it from 25 degrees Fahrenheit to 31 degrees Fahrenheit your work isn't being wasted it
has just been stored all the action happens at 32 degrees the ice starts melting from then on goals
versus systems we are told in order to succeed we need to set specific realistic goal cells but
results have very little to do with goals that are set but more to do with systems that it were put
in place goals are good at setting a direction the systems are best for making progress the purpose
of setting goals is to win the game the purpose of Building Systems is to continue playing the game
goals are the results you want to achieve systems are about the process that leads to those results
true long-term thinking is goalless thinking it's not about single accomplishment it is about the
cycle of endless refinement and continuous Improvement the problem with goal setting
is winners and losers want the same goals so therefore the goal cannot be what differentiates
winners from losers achieving a goal is only a momentary change so goals can actually restrict
your happiness goals are at odds with long-term progress the goal in any sport is to finish with
the best score but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard the only
way to actually win is to get better each day here are some examples 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 Atomic habits
are small routines and behaviors that compound to produce incremental positive outcomes over time
you do not rise to the level of your goals you fall to the level of your systems changing our
habits is challenging for two reasons number one we try to change the wrong thing and number two
we try to change our habits in the wrong way there are three layers of behavior change one a change
in our outcomes two a change in our processes or three a change in our identity habit Loops habits
are self-reinforcing this means that doing the habit and receiving the reward strengthens your
desire to do it again you can use this to your advantage when you want to change your behavior
there is a clear step-by-step process that actions travel through to become a habit the four steps of
the Habit Loop combine to form a neurological feedback loop these are the four steps of the
Habit Loop Number One the queue the queue triggers your brain to initiate a behavior it is a bit of
information that predicts a reward Q is about noticing the reward number two the craving
the craving is the motivational force behind every habit without some level of motivation
or desire without craving a change you have no reason to act craving is about wanting the reward
number three the response the response is the actual habit you perform where the response
occurs depends on how motivated you are and how much friction is associated with the behavior
responses about obtaining a reward and number four reward the reward is the end goal of every habit
you Chase rewards because they satisfy you and they teach you I want to share two of the examples
James provides about the formation of a habit Loop Q equals waking up craving wanting to feel alert
response drinking coffee reward feeling alert Q walking into a dark room craving you want to
be able to see response you flip the light switch reward you satisfy your craving to see ultimately
this Loop allows you to create and reinforce automatic habits the more you practice this habit
loop with any particular habit you stop noticing the Habit because it becomes something you do
automatically clear provides four laws of behavior change these provide a certain set of rules for
creating good habits and Breaking Bad Ones how to create good habits first law make it obvious
most of our habits are automatic we don't even think about them we need to be aware
of our habits we need to use the point and calling technique to consciously acknowledge
Behavior Second Law make it attractive desire is the engine that drives Behavior every action is
taken because of the anticipation that precedes it it is the craving that leads to the response
find that something appealing that makes you take the action that you want to develop into a habit
what is immediately rewarded is repeated what is immediately punished is avoided Third Law make it
easy reduce the friction associated with the good behaviors when friction is low habits are easy the
amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as important as the number of times you
have performed it fourth law make it satisfying there needs to be a reward in order for us to
want to repeat it in the long run the quality of Our Lives often depends on the quality of
our habits one of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already
do each day and then stack your new behavior on Top This is called habit stacking now this book
is filled with great advice and I really recommend you read it the big take I got out of this book is
setting processes and not goals it's going Beyond goals not making goals the be all and end-all once
I reach a goal then I continue to put the same techniques in place to continue to get better and
the other takeaway I got from this book was that trying to get a little bit better every day the
one percent rule has a compounding effect and I may not see results straight away but the results
will come I hope you found this video informative please subscribe and like and thanks for watching