PLENTY of things to get done. If not, many new hobbies we would like to try on. Our life cycle has always included the curiosity that comes with trying something new or pursuing the things we aspire to do. We, sometimes, are fortunate to get the opportunity to get started, but once we are already in the process, we tend to lose vision of the path we used to aspire to be on.
Consistency is an underrated yet crucial trait to become progressive. Certainly, it is easy to dream that you would like to lose weight or even have clear skin. But the challenge is how you stay consistent in the process that is required to achieve your goals. Many students say they aspire to get an academic excellence award by the end of the school year, but only half of those who aspired made it into reality.
James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” is a good read for those who want a game-changer and want a reality for their goals. Here are 5 of the most remarkable tips Clear’s book has imparted to its readers:
1. Motivation is Overrated, Environment Often Matters More
“Your habits change depending on the room you are in and the cues in front of you.”
When you enter a room and the things related to your goals are accessible, you are most likely to get started and do a task. However, if the room is full of distractions, you are most likely to forget the purpose why you’ve entered that room. For instance, you would like to do one of your assignments, but your study table is the same place where your gadgets can be found, and there is also a television inside your room. Instead of getting started, you are most likely to do what is more convenient than what is more challenging—watching television or scrolling on social media. Until you haven’t realized that you have consumed too much of your time, leaving very little to the task that you were supposed to work on.
Atomic Habits teaches its readers to establish a boundary for every place we’ll walk in. If the room is intended for studying, distractions shouldn’t be accessible at hand. The same goes for those who want to stay fit; the room allotted for workouts shouldn’t include unhealthy foods. In that way, removing the distractions out of sight lowers the probability of losing focus on your original plan.
2. How to Make Habit Irresistible
“Whenever you predict that an opportunity will be rewarding, your levels of dopamine spike in anticipation. And whenever dopamine arises, so does your motivation to act.
It is the anticipation of reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us into action.”
Incorporating subtle rewards can help make a habit irresistible. Perhaps it is one of the reasons why the Pomodoro Technique is widely used by students who want to be productive but refuse to have mental fatigue by studying for long hours. What makes a habit interesting is what comes after. Not all habits give fulfillment. The certainty that there is something to obtain keeps us in the running.
3. The Law of Least Effort
“Habits are easier to build when they fit into your flow of life.”
Habits take time to build. Others, although they have already started, fall short in making their habits sustainable. The thing is, when there is too much friction that comes with making a habit, the idea of how to get it done turns us off.
Whereas, if the habit is convenient for us, we are most likely to sustain it. Let’s say a person plans to become physically fit. If the location of the gym is along the way from his workplace on the way to his home, he is most likely to remain consistent. Whereas if the gym takes a different route, he’s most likely to make excuses to skip his workout.
4. The Two Minute Rule
“The Two-Minute Rule, states that, “When you start a new habit. It should take less than two minutes to do.”
Most of our goals require challenging actions to make them come true. If one has made up his mind about reading books to help him become more literate and to expand his vocabulary, he might have kept a list of books he would like to read. Plenty enough to help him become a bookworm. As the books arrive, he is now feeling overwhelmed about which one he should get started with first. Perhaps on day one, he got to read half of the page count, only to not feel like reading anything at all on the succeeding days.
“A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy.”
Atomic Habits instills the importance of making the first steps towards a new hobby, “easy”. Progress doesn’t have to come in huge jumps. Although little progress is still progress. To lessen his fatigue, he can start allotting a few days to read a few pages of the book. As time passes by, he can increase the page count, sufficient enough not to exhaust him mentally. What matters is sustainability and not the rush to reach the finish line.
5. The Truth About Talent
“The secret to maximizing your odds of success is to choose the right field of competition.”
People sometimes crave to champion all areas of life where competitions are available. Then, when they fail to succeed contrary to what they have planned, they sometimes feel like a failure and stop trying. The secret, according to Clear’s book, is to know your strength and stay consistent in the process involved to become excellent.
Want to excel in one of the subjects in class? Focus on the subject of your expertise. While school requires you to pass all subjects, if you want to really find which subject you will be successful at, then focus on studying more in that subject. In that way, when your school opens a competition related to the subject, you are confident that you have equipped yourself enough, instead of wanting to do well in everything but end up not improving at anything at all.
Atomic Habits is indeed a helpful book. It is in touch with the reality that succeeding in areas of life can also be held back by distractions. Through his realistic approach, implementing his advice is way easier than just telling someone to make their goals happen.
