Breaking the Cycle: Year-Round Self-Improvement Strategies
Using the New Year to kick bad habits or implement good ones is a losing battle. You need a plan.
After a long break, we want to kick 2024 off with strategies to dismantle old habits and foster new ones that align with our ideal selves.
Many people will be attempting to implement their New Year’s resolutions. Whether that’s hitting the gym, eating healthier, quitting substances, or being a more attentive friend.
Commendations if you're initiating a change. Yet, it's worth asking—why wait until now?
James Clear’s book Atomic Habits provides you with the tools to identify and crush bad habits immediately. No more waiting until the end of the year and proclaiming that this year will be different.
A plan and strategy are vital. Motivation alone, come January 1st, is insufficient to sustain change.
The goal is to transcend resolutions by instituting changes as soon as they're recognized, not relying on the fleeting impulse of New Year's resolve.
All the pages where I highlighted passages or took notes while reading Atomic Habits.
Without further delay, here are my top ten passages from "Atomic Habits," each with the potential to resonate and incite self-reflection.
“Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.” Pg.7
“True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.” Pg. 27
“You may want more money, but if your identity is someone who consumes rather than creates, then you’ll continue to be pulled toward spending rather than earning.” Pg. 32
“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.” Pg. 38
“I have never seen someone consistently stick to positive habits in a negative environment.” Pg. 94. “Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one. You may be able to resist temptation once or twice, but it’s unlikely you can muster the willpower to override your desires every time.” Pg. 95
“I once heard a story about a man who uses a wheelchair. When asked if it was difficult being confined, he responded, I’m not confined by my wheelchair- I am liberated by it. If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I would be bed-bound and never able to leave my house. Reframing your habits to highlight their benefits rather than their drawbacks is a fast and lightweight way to reprogram your mind and make a habit seem more attractive.” Pg. 131
“Your current habits have been internalized over the course of hundreds, if not thousands of repetitions. New habits require the same level of frequency. You need to string together enough successful attempts until the behavior is firmly embedded in your mind and you cross the Habit Line.” Pg. 146
“The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is rewarded is repeated. What is punished is avoided.” Pg. 186
“The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.” – “Too often, we fall into an all-or-nothing cycle with our habits. The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you can’t do something perfectly, then you shouldn’t do it at all.” Pg. 201
“Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way. Professionals know what is important to them and work toward it with purpose; amateurs get pulled off course by the urgencies of life.” Pg. 236
That last passage resonates deeply with me. Life will always give us ready-made excuses to maintain the status quo or prevent us from accomplishing our goals.
We must constantly ask, am I being honest with myself? The perfect moment rarely comes around, and if we are always waiting for the ideal conditions to implement good habits, we may be waiting a long time.
Considering some habits to change or adopt? Clear delineates the steps for both. And to guide you further, here are James Clear's foundational laws for habit creation, directly from his "Habits Cheat Sheet".
Example:
To create a good habit: Exercise Regularly
1. Make it obvious - Gym bag or running shoes by the door.
2. Make it attractive - Do it with a friend or spouse.
3. Make it easy - Workout at home or the gym 10 minutes away.
4. Make it satisfying - Post workout raw milk and fruit smoothie.
To break a bad habit: Stop watching t.v.
1. Make it invisible - Put the t.v. in a room it doesn’t belong.
2. Make it unattractive - Place books you’re excited to read nearby.
3. Make it difficult - Put the power cord and remote in a drawer.
4. Make it unsatisfying - Cancel the cable.
You get the idea. These distilled steps are a blueprint from "Atomic Habits" that can steer you toward meaningful change. For a deep dive into these principles and how to implement them, James Clear's book is an invaluable resource.
Make your 2024 New Year’s resolution to stop making New Year’s resolutions.
