279: James Clear - How Tiny Changes Can Equal Remarkable Results (Atomic Habits)

Oct 14, 2018

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INSIGHT

Habits Are Life's Atoms

Habits are the atoms of our lives and fundamental units of behavior that compound into powerful systems.
Small habit changes can yield remarkable results when combined and improved consistently over time.

INSIGHT

Four Laws of Behavior Change

The four laws of behavior change are: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying.
These laws serve as levers to build good habits or break bad ones by targeting cues, cravings, responses, and rewards.

ADVICE

Employ the Goldilocks Rule

Stay motivated by working on tasks slightly beyond your current ability, in the 'Goldilocks zone' of difficulty.
Continually stretch your skills just enough to keep engagement and avoid boredom or burnout.

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk. Episode #279: James Clear - How Tiny Changes Can Changes Can Equal Remarkable Results (Atomic Habits)

Show Notes:

"It's important to know how everything works together."
- Ojai, CA - Circle talking about book writing
Atomic = Atom, small, tiny. Habits should be small
"Habits are the atoms of our lives"
"It's about the collection of habits"
"They are small... but put them together... they compound and are powerful."
The system is in four stages. They stages are:
- The cue - gets attention
- The craving - in the brain
- The response - the habit, behavior
- The result - what happens
Feedback loops - The cookie example
"My readers and I are peers. An essential part of the process is to write about it. Try things out. Everything I've published has been revised many times."
The four laws:
- Make it obvious
- Make it attractive
- Make it easy
- Make it satisfying
The Goldilocks rule - Steve Martin
- People burn out or get bored. How to stay motivated...
- Be stretched just beyond your capacity but not too far. "Always stay just on the edge..." Steve Martin kept expanding his sets by just a few minutes each time until he had a 60 minute set. He started small with just a few minutes of material.
- Make sure you "stretch yourself... just a bit... everyday."
- Be the person who gets the additional task done
How to do this all as a parent? -- "Life is in seasons..."
- "If you want to double your productivity, get 8 hours of sleep."
The plateau of latent potential -- A melting ice cube. A 1 degree change
"Habits don't add up, they compound. It looks like a hockey stick."
"Outcome based habits vs identity based habits."
- Focus on identity based habits. Be the type of person who wakes up early and works out.
The importance of being able to delay gratification
Weightlifting - Reinterpret signals. "Being sore feels good." Re frame how you think about something like soreness
"Happiness is simply the absence of desire."
- When you observe a cue, but do not desire to change your state, you are content with the current situation
"Being curious is better than being smart."
- Need to be eager to learn and accomplish things
- "Your actions reveal how badly you want something"
"We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional."
System 1 = feelings
System 2 = Rational, math problem
- System 1 always leads the way

The Learning Leader Circle -- Apply
Use the "Get To Know You Document"

"Being curious is better than being smart"

Social Media:

Follow James on Twitter: @JamesClear
Read: Atomic Habits
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12