Every failure or success can be traced back to habits. Developing good habits is a man’s most difficult job. If forming good habits is easy, everyone would have been successful. In his pursuit of understanding the secret behind success, James Clear finds the power that lies within habits. He chose the name atomic habits metaphorically to explain the power of daily small habits in determining success or failure. In his book, he educates the readers on factors that influence good habits, how to develop good habits, how to sustain them for a long time, and how to stay motivated despite boredom. In this article, I’ll share lessons I learned as I read through the international bestseller.
3 Ways to Change Your Habits
- Change your goals- Your goals determine the habits you tolerate. Your goals can be conscious or subconscious. You must consciously have a goal to change your habits. The conscious decision will force you to adjust your habits according to your goals. If your goal is to become a singer, you will begin to realign yourself with material, resources, and people associated with music. You will start doing things that singers do.
- Change your habits/systems- The habits you have led you to where you are right now. If you want to change or move from your current position, you must change your habits. If you wake up late, you must make a deliberate decision to wake up early every day. If you want to become a person of knowledge, you must submit yourself to reading books. Changing the systems you have employed in your life makes you the person you are. Your system is revealed in the type of lifestyle you live.
- Change your identity– Your identity is a compilation of your goals, values, and desires. Out of the three methods of changing your behavior, changing your identity is the most effective. Changing identity changes everything about you. It changes your belief system and the person you believe you are. If you are struggling with smoking, you have subconsciously identified as a smoker. The best way to stop the habit of smoking is to identify as a nonsmoker. Your new behaviors will stem from your new identity. If you identify as a nonsmoker you will start behaving the way nonsmokers do.
Read: How to Break Bad Habits
Forget About Goals and Focus on the System
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Behind every goal actualized are plans that made it possible. The plans are divided further into systems. The systems are the ways you make plans a reality. When someone asks you, how will you make this plan possible? the answer you give is the system you have employed to make the plan.
James inspires us to focus on the system instead of the goals. Paying attention to the system guarantees movement and adjustment when plans are not working. When we find it difficult to actualize a goal, we do not change the entire plan we adjust the system.
Systems are easier to fix and stronger when done the right way. Our goal should be to develop a strong system that guides our habits and allows us to feed our focus and starve our distractions.
4 Laws of Behavior Change
- Make it obvious- Make good habits something you usually do. Think of them as things you can do without putting much effort. Make a deliberate decision to practice the good habits until they become automatic. Your brain will pick these habits once they are deep in your mind. You can make good habits obvious by writing or telling yourself what you will do and adding what you will do after doing what you have said.
- Make it attractive- Imagine a picture driving you to behave well. The image will stir good emotions, inspiring you to practice good habits. You can pair good habits with something you want to do instantly. If you want to spend time on social media, attach that habit to meaningful habits like journaling or working out.
- Make it easy- Repetition is the key to mastering a habit. A habit can be difficult to actualize at first time but with practice it becomes easy. The only way to make a habit easy is by practicing it repeatedly. Make an intentional effort to repeat the habits you have developed until it becomes an easy routine.
- Make it satisfying– You can develop good habits easily by attaching satisfaction after doing them. James encourages us to use a habit tracker system or visual forms to track our habits. Visually seeing our progress satisfies our minds and drives to repeat the good habits.
When Genes Matter and When They Don’t
Genes play a major role in the success of an individual. Usain Bolt’s physique makes him a perfect 100 sprinter but he wouldn’t stand a chance at a 40km marathon against Kipchoge Keino. Genes do not guarantee success, but they can help us direct our energy and focus. You should zero in on your efforts where you will most likely find success. Answering the following questions will help you identify the area you are most gifted in.
- What feels like fun to me, but work to others?
- what makes me lose track of time?
- where do I get greater returns than the average person?
- what comes naturally to me?
Staying Motivated
Boredom is the greatest threat to success. When we develop the habits we desire so much, we can easily become victims of complacency. After achieving the goal we want, we must effort to reflect and review our progress even amid success. Reflecting and reviewing keeps us focused on our goals, opens up opportunities that energize our minds, and sustains success for a long time. Getting to success is hard but sustaining success for a long time is harder. We must always practice self-awareness to stay motivated when success has become routine.
James Clear reduces the secret of success to habits. He tells us we can achieve anything we want in life provided we are ready to pay the price of changing our habits. Our responsibilities as people in pursuit of success are to identify habits suited for our area of expertise, and practice, until they become automatic and create a system of review and reflection to stay motivated when we get to our goals.
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