Mini habits tells you to do one super super small habit at a time.
Atomic Habits, so far, tells you to focus on your system, not just the end goal. The end goal can be a one time thing while your system will keep you going. It also tells you about a few different strategies you can use. From habit stacking, removing the cues of your habit, making a cue obvious.
It’s much easier to build a habit on something that’s already a habit. Look at the areas of your life where you do something without fail everyday and what things happen to you without fail everyday.
Atomic Habits – James Clear
A different approach in changing habits. We often try to change our habits so that we can change who we are. He uses the example of someone trying to quit smoking. We try to get rid of our habit of smoking so that we can become a non-smoker, but what about first changing how you perceive yourself. It would be easier to change your habits by changing how you look at yourself. Instead of saying you’re trying to quit smoking, first tell yourself that you’re not a smoker so that your actions can follow suit easier.
Goals are important in setting the direction, but if you don’t focus on your system of getting results you’re going to end up back where you started. Let’s say your goal is to clean your house. If you don’t change your day to day system, your house is just going to get messy again.
Do you ever get the motivation to build a habit, whether it’s exercising, reading more, writing etc, go at the full speed for a couple of weeks, only to drop off not too long after? Often times when we try to introduce a new habit, it’s to change a behavior that we’ve been doing for years and years. Our brains do not like sudden and drastic change. It’s no wonder that we have such a tough time doing something that we know is good for us. Our body is clinging to the comfortable and often times we lack the motivation and willpower to push through. So what can we do? Take a baby step. A baby step so small that it might be considered stupid. Why? If our body likes being comfortable, it will often resist something that seems challenging, even if it’s just the thought of it. So to “trick it”, take a small step, and you’ll see that doing a little bit more isn’t so hard.
Mini Habits – Stephen Guise
One of the powers of building a mini habit is that it doesn’t compete for brain power from your other habits. Trying to beat an established habit by sheer willpower is like trying to enter a weight lifting competition without working out. It’s much easier take the smallest possible step to build/replace a habit so that you’re brain doesn’t have to think about the insurmountable challenge. How easy would it be to read two pages versus twenty pages? Once of you do start those two pages, chances are you’ll read more.
Not only will taking that first small step make taking bigger steps easier by showing your brain the task at hand is not as challenging as you thought, but it can help build confidence that you can change your life. By being able to consistently take this small step, you can show yourself that you can be consistent. You can take charge of your life, one step at a time, one day at a time.
Currently reading Mini Habits by Stephen Guise
What I learned today:
Building habits by nature will lose excitement as time goes on. In the beginning we get enthusiastic about the progress that we make, but as the habit becomes stronger we don’t need need to think about htem as much. Naturally they become more “boring” as there emotions attached to the progress we make. Stick to the smallest step, and it’ll make it easier to keep carrying on, even when it no longer feel novel.
Progress 1/1
I’ve decided to use this platform to share what I learn, articulate my thoughts, and most importantly keep myself accountable to my goals for this year. No need to for perfection. Just get things out! As a wise friend told me, “I’d rather turn something unfinished in on a deadline, than to miss the deadline just to perfect it.” No sense in stressing over the imperfections, there’s going to be plenty of time to get better.
EVERYDAY IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO DO BETTER
The word resolution no longer has a meaning. It’s an ambiguous word that’s meant to fail. Instead we’re going to try for goals, SMART goals. For those that don’t know what a smart goal is, me prior to Christmas, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely. For awhile I couldn’t quite understand the meaning behind Relevant until it was explained to me as “Why is is relevant to you, why do you care about it”. This might be the most important letter in the group. Without this goal actually being important to you, being Relevant, there’s no point in doing this goal at all. What is your why for your goals?
Main goals for 2019
I hope to accomplish other auxiliary goal that are not so specific but function as a cherry on top for a productive year. There’s a long list of these “mini goals” so let’s see how many of these I can accomplish in this year
Finally I also have habits that I would like to develop. One thing I learned about habits is that if you want to make a habit stick, start small. Very small. So small that you can’t fail. So small that you can even do it on your wedding day. This way you can’t fail. Take reading for example, no matter how busy you are, you can read 2 pages a day. But while you’re considering a habit you’d like to have, make sure it’s something you would want to do, every single day for the rest of your life. Or else why call it a habit.
If you happen to find this blog, I hope you enjoy this year with me! And if you catch me missing something, hold me accountable! I would appreciate it!
