👋 books

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

  1. Outcomes
  2. Process
  3. 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