Posted on
13 Mar 2021,
in
Life Offline.
You do not rise to level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. - James Clear
Lately, I have been very excited about my newly created habits. I read a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear and got the answers to many of my questions such as why habits are important and how to effectively create good habits or get rid of bad ones. Our habits are not solely what defines who we are, but it definitely is a huge factor that contributes to our identity.
Default To Least Amount Of Effort
We do whatever is more efficient. Another way of phrasing this is that we do whatever takes the least amount of effort. It is human nature to be lazy and do whatever is convenient. When we aim to climb a mountain we aren’t ecstatic about the climb itself; rather, we are driven by the outcome of reaching the top. We then need to reflect on our habits to make sure they are easy to accomplish. Otherwise, our human nature will tell us not to do them. When we do a task consistently and automatically, that is when it turns into a habit.
We Are What We Repeatedly Do
Every action we take is a vote towards who we want to be. As Aristotle once said:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Taking the effort to reflect on my habits daily has been a great way of leading me to become the person I want to be. It is what I do most often that determines who I am. If I draw every day I am an artist, if I play guitar every day I am a guitarist. Therefore, for us to become who we desire to be, it is best to stay consistent with our daily (or weekly) habits and routines.
Why Are Good Habits So Difficult To Create?
When we think about creating a habit, we tend to be too fixated on the outcome. This is a problem for a variety of reasons:
- Winners and losers have the same goals
- This is a good example of survivorship bias. When we hear an Olympic gold medalist talking about how they made it their goal to win, their goal really isn’t different than their competition or any of us; we all have a goal to be winners. Therefore, we cannot assume that winners win by creating goals.
- Achieving a goal is only a momentary change
- Often times one goal is not enough. We need to create many small goals (or tasks) that lead us to reach our main goal. When we are able to complete a task, it allows us to feel more compelled to continue. This is why one main goal is not what we should be focusing on since we don’t get that satisfaction sooner.
- Goals restrict our happiness
- “Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy”. Why can’t we be happy regardless? When we fall in love with the process rather than the product, we don’t have to wait to permit ourselves to be content. Commitment to the process will determine our progress.
How To Create Good Habits (And Lose Bad Ones)
To fix our habits let’s first understand how habits work. Habits have 4 stages.
- Cue: The trigger for our brain to initiate a behavior
- Cravings: The motivation or desire for us to act
- Response: The action of doing the habit
- Reward: The feeling of satisfying our craving
Therefore we can make steps to address each of these stages:
4 Steps To Make A Good Habit
1. Make It Obvious
2. Make It Attractive
3. Make It Easy
4. Make It Satisfying
4 Steps To Get Rid Of A Bad Habit (Inverse)
1. Make It Invisible
2. Make it Unattractive
3. Make It Difficult
4. Make It Unsatisfying
In the next section, I will give a few examples that have helped me through my experiences. Keep in mind that I am not you, we all are built differently so don’t create friction by doing something you can’t achieve. It is best to work with our strengths than our weaknesses.
The Most Powerful Habits
After learning about how to create habits, my next objective was to find out what habits are the most popular so I can integrate them into my life. From my research I have found that the habit of reading, meditating, note-taking, exercising, and sleeping on a schedule are some of the best habits we can make.
Reading Books
As good as the internet can be when doing research, it always tends to be distracting since most websites aim to keep you on their websites, not to help you with your projects or studies. Books on the other hand, have been a great way for me to dig deeper into a specific topic without getting me sidetracked by social media and ads.
Cue: Book is visible next to my bed.
Craving: Wanting to get to the next chapter.
Response: Being in a relaxing environment to focus on reading.
Reward: Finishing the chapter.
Meditating
I never imagined sitting without doing anything for 10 mins would be so hard. With social media rotting our brains to get used to the constant stream of content, we have lost our ability to relax and focus. Meditation has helped me recover, by keeping my mind sharp and maintaining a peaceful mood. It has also helped me reflect on my ambitions and principles.
Cue: Waking up.
Craving: Wanting to prepare and stay focused for the day.
Response: Sitting in a comfortable spot. Sometimes listening to meditation audio.
Reward: Relaxing. Being able to focus better.
Note-Taking
Keeping track of my to-do lists, bookmarks, and reminders have made me so much more productive. I never enjoyed taking notes in high-school or college. I later realized that I did not enjoy taking notes because of a couple of reasons; Such as I did not like looking at my bad penmanship and I was slow at writing. Now that I take notes on my computer, it has made my note-taking faster and way more organized.
Cue: I received new information that I need to remember.
Craving: Wanting to write it down so I don’t forget
Response: Making note of it on my phone/computer.
Reward: Having the information in an easily accessible place.
Exercising
After struggling to maintain my workout routine, I remembered why I wanted to exercise in the first place. However, I knew that this motivation was only temporary, which is why I have been trying out different mobile apps for working out. They are great because they satisfy all the requirements to make a habit.
Cue: Mobile app tells me what day(s) to exercise.
Craving: Wanting to relieve some stress and try out new workout routines.
Response: Exercising while listening to music to hype me up.
Reward: Checking completed on the workout app and seeing the history of completed days.
Sleeping On Schedule
Sleep is something we have all had trouble with. Without a good night’s sleep, we aren’t able to function properly and complete any work effectively. This is why creating a schedule for your sleep is so important. Having a schedule allows our bodies to get used to our circadian rhythm (also known as your internal clock).
Falling Asleep:
Cue: Looking at the time. Body feels tired.
Craving: Wanting to unwind.
Response: Avoiding artificial light. Going to bed in a comfortable position.
Reward: Going to bed on time.
Waking Up:
Cue: Alarm turns on.
Craving: Wanting to turn off alarm and wake up. Sunlight and water are also great motivators.
Response: Getting out of bed to turn off the alarm (I put my alarm away from my bed so I have to physically get out of bed)
Reward: Waking up on time and feeling refreshed.
Conclusion
No system is perfect. Even if you can get into the mindset of what a healthy, productive, or fit individual’s lifestyle is and replicate it, you may burn yourself out. Remember to take breaks and forgive your past self if/when you can’t keep up with your routine. If you need more time to relax then do so. Changing yourself will require a lot of work and effort so don’t forget that it does not start with a goal to change your character; it starts with changing our routines and systems.
What habit(s) would the person you strive to be have?