Create Future with 1% Better
I used to think that the desire for change in my life could come if there was a massive change in my actions. Of course, I always fail and often revert to old actions. I’m trying to figure out why it’s like that. Why are there still the same annual resolutions as the previous year? It’s kind of a shame for me to have the same annual resolution every year as if nothing was ever done. The conclusion I came to is that it’s too hard to consistently do big, new, and radical actions. so is there another way? Every problem always has a solution. And I found “Atomic Habits” Book by James Clear. From this book, I learned that small improvements, which may not seem at first, can make a big difference.
This book explains that the habits we do will compound our self-improvement. The habit is closely related to time. Mathematically, if we make a 1% improvement every day, we will improve about 37 times over the year. On the other hand, if we get worse by 1% every day, we will get nothing.
We as humans think that the progress of the improvements we make has a linear result. The graph above explains that the progress of the improvements we are making is exponential. That’s why at the beginning we do the habit, we are often disappointed and then we stop doing it or go back to old habits because the result is below our expectations.
Screw The Goals!
“Forget about the goals, focus on system instead.”
Informing a habit, we should not be based on goals. For most of us, once we reach the goal it will give rise to a feeling of happiness. So that if we do not achieve a goal we will not feel happy which is not good for our mental health. I liken it to a game. Focusing on goals directs us to win the game while focusing on the system makes us continue to be able to play this game.
To change habits we must change our view of goals. Most of us identify goals in the outcomes we get. But the best way to change a habit is by focusing on the person we want to become instead of the result we want. For example, the goal isn’t to learn an instrument, it is to become a musician.
The Loops
What I learned from this book, habit is something that has been repeated enough times until it becomes automatics. There are 4 stages to forming habits. They are cues, cravings, responses, and rewards. Every good or bad habit always goes through these 4 stages. For example, the cue is starving, the craving is we want something to eat, the response is we go to the kitchen and eat something, and the reward is we are full and get satisfied. Over time, rewards become associated with cues, and this is how the loop happened. The more we repeat these habit loops, the stronger and more automatic they become.
The Law of Habits
So how do we influence the habit loops to work for us?
First, make it obvious. The clearer what we are going to do, the easier it will be to stick to it. We can use this formula:
I will [behavior] at [time] in [location]
for bad example, “I will read more books this month”. And here is a good example “I will read a book for 10 minutes daily at 7 AM in the spare bedroom”. We must also create the environment, it’s like making the cues are more visible and obvious. For example, we can put the book around the table in our bedroom so we can pay attention to the book.
The second, make it easy. Make the habit that we will do easy to reach. For example, if we want to create a habit to go to the gym every day after work or activities in the morning, choose a gym that is on the path in the direction of the way home. Reduce obstacles as much as possible so that when we do it it doesn’t feel burdensome.
The third, make it attractive. This is closely related to the hormone dopamine. This hormone will improve mood, so we will feel happier. Keep in mind that good habits don’t usually pay off right away, so they’re usually boring. We can take advantage of the dopamine hormone by doing habits with other fun activities. For example, we can do gym activities or workout while watching a movie, or we can read a book while listening to music, etc.
The fourth, make it satisfying. We can reward ourselves and feel successful after doing a habit. Also, don’t forget to track your progress. In my opinion, tracking progress is a satisfying thing because we have succeeded in making achievements at that time. Last but not least, don’t break the chain. Maybe if we are too tired to do it we can reduce the intensity. It’s okay not to be perfect but at least try not to stop.
We can do the opposite of the ways above to get rid of our bad habits, making them unobvious, difficult, unattractive, and unsatisfying.
You Do You
In learning about self-improvement, I learned that who we are today is what our habits are in the past, and that what we will become in the future is what our habits are now. So, let's create our best future with 1% better today!
