Habits are such an important part of who we are, and who we wish to become. Good habits can help us reach our goals and become the best version of ourselves. However, bad habits can sabotage our goals and lead us down the wrong path. Let’s take a look at how to create good habits so that you can be the person you have always wanted to be.

3 Key Lessons from Atomic Habits

If you haven’t read Atomic Habits by James Clear, do yourself a favour and get a copy of this book. And don’t just read it once. Read it over and over again until the lessons truly sink in. This best-selling book has sold over 20 million copies, and has been a game changer for the every day mum and dad to CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies.

Lesson #1 - Small habits make a big difference

Making tiny improvements every day will have a far greater effect in the long run compared to making huge leaps and gains every so often. According to James Clear, “If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”

Taking small steps each day will greatly improve your chances of success. This might be getting up five minutes earlier, exercising for five minutes longer, or getting off the train one stop earlier and walking the extra 10-15 minutes home. These little actions will add up across the course of months and years.

Lesson #2 - Forget about setting goals and focus on systems instead

This might sound counterintuitive to begin with, and I recently wrote a newsletter on the importance of goal setting. For me, setting goals are still important, but goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.

James Clear explains that “bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.” If your goal is to lose 5kg, your systems may include exercising for 30 minutes every day, not eating after dinner time, or removing processed food and alcohol from your diet. The systems are what allow you to achieve your goals.

Lesson #3 - Build identity-based habits

In order to build habits that last, you need to create a new identity first. If you want to improve your health and fitness, you need to become the person that wakes up early and goes to the gym five days a week before work. Or the person who plays tennis every weekend with their friends. Or the person who clocks 10,000 steps every single day. This is your new identity!

“Your current behaviours are simply a reflection of your current identity,” according to James Clear. “What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously). To change your behaviour for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.”

4 Steps to Creating Good Habits

To create good habits, you need to make it simple and easy. Don’t overcomplicate things. Here are four steps to creating good habits:

1. Make is obvious - put your shoes by the front door and lay out your exercise attire the night before so that you see it the moment you wake up.

2. Make it attractive - organise to go on a walk with a friend so that you can socialise at the same time as you exercise, as well as hold each other accountable.

3. Make it easy - start with a 15 minute walk rather than trying to get an hour in each day.

4. Make it satisfying - give yourself a reward afterwards such as a healthy breakfast or a delicious cup of coffee as a way of rewarding your great work.

Build good habits today

It doesn’t matter whether it’s your health and fitness, your family or friends, your work or career, or your social life or lifestyle, building good habits into every aspect of your life will greatly improve your life overall. Remember, habits are the systems that allow us to achieve our goals.

Getting up at the same time every day. Going for a walk every night after work. Meditating and journalling every morning. Having dinner with your family and friends every weekend. Getting to the office early during the week. These are all habits that can enhance the quality of your life in more ways than you can imagine.

And here’s one final quote from James Clear.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.”

Reference:

https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits-summary