Atomic Habits by James Clear taught me how small changes surmount into large improvements over time. This can be a very frustrating factor in improving habits and daily disciplines. When we imagine running, keeping the house clean, journaling, meditating, or other positive improvements in our life, we do so with the hopes that this will catapult our life forward and create some “kumbaya moment”. Unfortunately, this is not the case and one of the many reasons why sticking with habit change can be so difficult. If we don’t see the payoff, why do it? The best metaphor I recalled from the book was that of temperature change. If the thermostat changes one degree at a time, you won’t notice it, but after 8 or 9 degrees, you will start to feel a shift, and by 15 degrees, the change will be so great you may start to sweat. This is like how habit changes affect our lives. At first, the habit feels forced, difficult, and we won’t reap the benefits until the habit has been repeated.
Rewarding yourself in a fashion that aligns with your goals directly after you have implemented the habit can help with this reward system and let you expect something good after following through in the short term, which may allow you to fall in love with the journey and before you know it you lost 10 pounds walking daily. Ensuring that the reward system aligns with your goals is critical; if you want to lose weight but reward yourself with ice cream after working out, you will never progress. But if you reward yourself by watching your favorite television show after your nightly walk or run, you might just come to enjoy the show even more knowing that you have completed your set task for the day.
Another metaphor the book illustrates is each little habit and action we take casts a vote toward the person we want to become. Our life is full of thousands of little votes towards the identity we are foraging, and although each little vote seems insignificant, remember that each little vote adds up over time.
Overall…
- Small changes over time accumulate to great improvements.
- Habit change is like small changes like temperature, it may seem un-noticeable at first but over time it all adds up.
- Reward yourself in ways that align with your long-term goals.
To learn from Atomic Habits, visit https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits.
