Book 12: Atomic Habits by James Clear
About 40-50% of our actions on a given day are done out of habits.
The source of all suffering is the desire for a change in state, and it is the source of progress that powers you to take action. Do remember reward comes only after the energy is spent. If failure is painful, it gets fixed, and if a failure is relatively painless it gets ignored.
Improving by 1% seems insignificant at that moment, but is far more meaningful on a long run. ie.,, small improvements on a daily basis or getting 1% better every day!!The effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. It is the commitment to the process that determine your progress.
Behind every set of actions there is a belief system. An identity behind the habits. A behaviour that is incongruent with self will not last. The pride aspect related to your identity motivate you to maintain the habit. The belief behind the behaviour change or true behaviour change is identity change. Editing your beliefs (or unlearning) are required to expand your identity. Your identity is your REPEATED BEINGNESS..very true, it is what one do again and again and that projection is what is your identity in fact! You became that you through your habits. Through each habit development, you trust yourself (or they change your beliefs about yourself). The focus should be on becoming the type of person and not the outcome itself.
Feedback loop behind all human behaviour is: try, fail, learn, try differently. Habits are reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment. Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks. All habits proceed via 4 stages in the order: cue, craving, response, reward. This is the neurological feedback loop, that ultimately allow you to create automatic habits. Once habit becomes automatic, we stop paying attention to what we are doing!!
All behaviour is driven by the desire to solve a problem. The 4 lays of behaviour change: Make it OBVIOUS, Make it ATTRACTIVE, make it EASY, make it SATISFYING.
Implementation intention as to how you intend to implement a particular habit, with time and location is required. Usually what we see as lack of motivation is lack of clarity. Keeping a date like first day/ week of the month to start is a higher hope and it might feel motivating enough to start the habit. Tie your desired behaviour into something you already do each day. ie, After doing THIS existing habit, I will do THIS new habit. Also a habit stacking by doing so.
Many of the actions that we take each day are shaped by the most obvious option (and not a purposeful drive). Civilization advances by extending the number of operations we can perform without even thinking. Technology creates a level of convenience that enables you to act on your smallest whims.
Sensory receptors: About 10 million sensory receptors are dedicated to sight. VISUAL CUES ARE the greatest catalyst of our behaviour. A small change in what you see can lead to a big shift in what you do. So make your cues for your preferred habits more obvious. Alter the space where u live and work to increase your exposure to positive cues (called environmental design). We assign our habits to location (where it occurs), so each location develop connection to a habit/routine. So check how to interact with the space around you!!! Habits can be easier to change in a new 'place' /environment (because you are not fighting with the old cues)
This is so true for all: Anticipation of an experience often feel better than attainment of it. Or that anticipation of reward gets us to take action.
Humans are herd animals (want to bond, fit in, approval of our peers etc), or our deepest desire is to BELONG. There do exists habits that are part of culture, without thinking/ questioning we follow some practices. We pick habit from people around us. The human mind wants to get along with others. So when changing your habits you are fitting in with the tribe and change is attractive (reward of being accepted).
Reframing your habits to highlight their benefits rather than their drawbacks. Breath and smile, take 3 deep breath and smile – This is a cue that makes one feel happy (enjoy immediately after a difficult habit).
Being in motion vs taking action. Only action deliver an outcome. Planning is not enough practicing is required. Repeat the habit and not really waiting for perfection. Habit automation through repetition. Habits form based on frequency (or how many? – string together enough successful attempts) and not time.
We are motivated to do what is easy or convenient. So make your habits more convenient! You reduce (or remove) the friction rather than trying to overcome the friction. Try to fit them to the flow of your life. Priming your environment can help. Start with 2 minute rule, though the real goal is to do more. You can't improve a habit that doesn't exist! When starting a habit, make it as easy as possible. You have to do the same thing over and over before you can master it. Reflection and review enables long term improvement of habits.
Adopting a habit that provide pleasurable sensory feedback, makes the behaviour change satisfying, and we are likely to repeat those habits. What is rewarded is repeated and not what is punished. Our bias is towards instant gratification. However with good habits, the immediate outcome is unenjoyable but the ultimate outcome feels good. In other words the cost of bad habits are in the future and cost of good habits are in the present. Though incentives can help to start a habit, but IDENTITY sustains a habit. Focus on showing up- don't break the chain. Try to get back to the habit if you happen to miss a day or two. Focus on the process than on the result. Habits are easier to perform when they align with your natural inclination and abilities ( eg, Phelps the swimmer vs El Guerrouj the runner – compare their physique and you will be able to understand more). This is the reason why you enjoy certain tasks that others always complain about – feel natural for you. Choose the habits that best suit you. The more sacred an idea is to us, the more deeply it is tied to your identity and the more strongly we defend it against criticism. When you cling too tightly to one identity, you become brittle. Loosen up, so that an identity can be flexible. Everything is impermanent.
Few points: Habits are all about associations. Every time you perceive a cue, your brain runs a simulation and makes a prediction about what to do in the next moment. Neurologists have discovered that when emotion and feelings are impaired, one loose the ability to make decision.
Decision journal: Record the major decisions that you make each week. Check why you made them, and what the outcome is made or expected? Review the choices at the end of every year to see where they were correct and where you went wrong.
In this abstract, I have somewhat ignored details on breaking a bad habit or probably I sort out what is more essential for us to start a new habit and not giving all attention to old or bad habits.
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