With the start of the new year, some people make New Year’s resolutions, where they essentially make goals for the new year but often discard them within a few weeks. Why do New Year’s resolutions fail? What can we do instead to help us change our behavior for the better?
In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, he sets forth how to change your habits and get 1% better every day with three key lessons:
Lesson 1: Small habits make a big difference
We often underestimate the value of making small improvements every day. After all, improving by 1% doesn’t seem very remarkable, but in the long run, it can be very meaningful. The difference a little improvement makes over time can be amazing. According to Clear, here is how the math works:
· Getting 1% better every day for one year equals 37 times better by the time you are done.
· Becoming 1 % worse every day for one year results in declining down to nearly zero.
· A small win or minor setback can add up to be something much more.
It doesn’t matter how you are right now. What matters is if your habits are pointing you toward success.
Lesson 2: Forget about setting goals. Focus on systems instead.
Goals are about the outcomes you want to accomplish. They are what you get when you make a change. Systems are the process that leads to those results. They are what you do to achieve the change.
The Problem with Goals
· Winners and losers often have the same goals.
· Achieving a goal is only a momentary change. What needs to change are the systems that cause those results.
· Goals restrict your happiness. The assumption that often is associated with goals is that once the goal is reached, then I will be happy. This is a very narrow view of happiness. There are many paths to success. Fall in love with the process rather than the product. Then, you can be content anytime your system is running.
· Goals are at odds with long-term progress. When all your work is focused on a particular goal, what is left to push you forward after you accomplish it?
If you’re having trouble making lasting change, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves over and over, not because you don’t want to change but because you have the wrong system for change. James Clear asserts, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Lesson 3: Build identity-based habits
To build habits that stick, focus on creating a new identity first. Your current behaviors reflect your current identity. Your actions now illustrate the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).
To change your behavior for good, you need to believe new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.
Changing your beliefs can be achieved in two steps:
1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
Your identity comes from your habits. Every action is a vote for the person you wish to become.
Reference: Clear, J. (2018) Atomic Habits: An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones. Avery an Imprint of Penguin Random House.