Atomic Habits
Rough Notes
- Aggregation of marginal games, focus on 1% improvements
- Outcomes are lagging measures of your habits. You get what you repeat.
- Concept - Plateau of latent potential
Goals - It's not about goals, it's about systems
- Goals struggle from survivorship bias, as we only see the ones that succeed
- Achieving a goal is only a momentary change
Identity
3 Layers
- Outcomes
- Process
- Changing your identity (deepest layer)
- We can build identity habits, and frame it as who we wish to become
- Behaviors are a reflection of your identity
- Continuously edit your beliefs
- Ask "Who is the type of person who can get the outcome I want"
Habits shape identity, identity shapes habits. Values and principles drive the loop, not the outcomes. Identity change is the North Star.
A Habit
- Cue — initiate the habit
- Craving — motivational force behind a habit, craving the change in state of the habit (change internal state)
- Response — actual habit performed (thought of action), depends on ability to perform
- Reward — end goal of every habit, satisfy and teach
4 Laws of Behavioral Change
- Cue — make it obvious / invisible
- Craving — make it attractive / unattractive
- Response — make it easy / difficult
- Reward — make it satisfying / unsatisfying
Behavior change starts with awareness.
Start A New Habit
- We rarely lack motivation, often lack clarity
- Be specific about what you want — don't be vague
- Habit Stacking — no behavior happens in isolation, it follows an action, which becomes a cue