Atomic Habits - James Clear
Focus on the actions you take, not the goals you set. As you take action, focus on being 1% better. Keep yourself interested in the new action by pacing yourself.
The Book in 3 Sentences
Focus on the actions you take, not the goals you set. As you take action, focus on being 1% better. Keep yourself interested in the new action by pacing yourself.
Impressions
The 1% Rule: The key point here is similar to an airplane flying through the sky. At takeoff, if the plane is 1% off course, it doesn’t have a large effect. That same 1%, stretched through a seven hour flight, however, can greatly impact the final destination.
Looking at goals, if we are striving for 1% better every day, every time, we’ll eventually see incredible success. On the inverse, 1% decline will be quite treacherous. With each moment in your life, you are either going up or down, you can never stay the same.
He provided this is image as a visual example:
The next item that really stood out to me is what James calls The Valley of Disappointment.
To help explain how this impacted me, let’s start with an example we’ll all understand. Biceps.
If you want biceps, you know that you can’t just walk into a gym, spend an hour in there, and walk out with huge biceps. It takes day after day, workout and workout AND once you start you also won’t see any results for quite some time. See this image as reference:
When I started on a new niche in my business, I expected the result you see above. I thought if I did the right things, I would see a slow increase in my success. What I did see was quite the opposite. It seemed the more I worked didn’t matter, I just couldn’t see anything take effect.
If we follow the line of what actually happens, that’s where you’ll see how you have to put the effort in FIRST and consistently, THEN you’ll start to see growth. I needed to look at my new niche as working out a muscle instead of a lightswitch.
I spent a few weeks in the Valley of Disappointment, which I think is very fitting. I was there solely because my thought process wasn’t right. Had I been thinking about my niche like my biceps, my expectations would have been better set.
Next, I want to introduce you to the two minute rule. This is an easy way to start any new goal/action. James’ two minute rule is simple, do any new action for two minutes.
The two minute rule is pretty interesting. On one hand, it completely makes sense. In my experience with trying to learn the piano. Instead of playing for hours and hours in one day, I would have most likely had more consistent success with limiting it to 2 -5 minutes a day. That way the intrigue is still there, there can still be mystery and excitement.
Alternatively, I also see the advantage of failing fast. If I am not going to like the piano, I better spend all my time one day figuring out that I hate it so I don't spend another day on it.
After I've written that out I am now realizing that one just comes before the other. Yes, I should fail fast to determine if I want to invest additional time in something. After I make that determination, that is where I should pace my learning.
How the book changed me
I am far more understanding of the difficulties I've had in business lately. I was thinking about my success as if it should be instant. Instead, I need to think of it like going to the gym. Do the action before the goal happens
Instead of thinking about my GOALS, it is far better to focus on my actions and environment.
Teaching my kids has a different meaning to me now. I want to instill in them NOT certain subjects or goals. I want to instill in them to be thrifty, crafty, scrappy. I don't care if they don't know the answer, I want them to know how to find the answer.
My top 3 quotes
Successful people rebound quickly.
Professionals stick to the schedule. Amateurs let life get in the way.
Don't focus on goals, focus on actions
Summary
There is a ton to upack in Atomic Habits and obviously I did not capture them all here. Again, if it’s sparked your interest, please check it out.
Thanks for reading.