Episode #279: James Clear – How Tiny Changes Can Equal Remarkable Results (Atomic Habits)

James Clear is the author of Atomic Habits, the creator of the Habits Academy, a weightlifter, and a travel photographer.

His writing is focused on how we can create better habits, make better decisions, and live better lives. He combines ideas from a wide range of disciplines including biology, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and more.

He believes that you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

His work has been covered by dozens of major media outlets including The New York Times, Entrepreneur, TIME, and on CBS This Morning.

James’ previous appearance on The Learning Leader Show was in front of a live audience in Columbus, OH. CLICK HERE to watch/listen.

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“Habits don’t add up. They compound.  It’s a hockey stick.”

Show Notes:

  • “It’s important to know how everything works together.”
    • Ojai, CA – Circle talking about book writing
  • Atomic = Atom, small, tiny.  Habits should be small
  • “Habits are the atoms of our lives”
  • “It’s about the collection of habits”
  • “They are small… but put them together… they compound and are powerful.”
  • The system is in four stages.  They stages are:
    • The cue – gets attention
    • The craving – in the brain
    • The response – the habit, behavior
    • The result – what happens
  • Feedback loops – The cookie example
  • “My readers and I are peers.  An essential part of the process is to write about it. Try things out.  Everything I’ve published has been revised many times.”
  • The four laws:
    • Make it obvious
    • Make it attractive
    • Make it easy
    • Make it satisfying
  • The Goldilocks rule – Steve Martin
    • People burn out or get bored.  How to stay motivated…
    • Be stretched just beyond your capacity but not too far. “Always stay just on the edge…”  Steve Martin kept expanding his sets by just a few minutes each time until he had a 60 minute set.  He started small with just a few minutes of material.
    • Make sure you “stretch yourself… just a bit… everyday.”
    • Be the person who gets the additional task done
  • How to do this all as a parent? — “Life is in seasons…”
    • “If you want to double your productivity, get 8 hours of sleep.”
  • The plateau of latent potential — A melting ice cube.  A 1 degree change
  • “Habits don’t add up, they compound.  It looks like a hockey stick.”
  • “Outcome based habits vs identity based habits.”
    • Focus on identity based habits.  Be the type of person who wakes up early and works out.
  • The importance of being able to delay gratification
  • Weightlifting – Reinterpret signals.  “Being sore feels good.”  Re frame how you think about something like soreness
  • “Happiness is simply the absence of desire.”
    • When you observe a cue, but do not desire to change your state, you are content with the current situation
  • “Being curious is better than being smart.”
    • Need to be eager to learn and accomplish things
    • “Your actions reveal how badly you want something”
  • “We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional.”
  • System 1 = feelings
  • System 2 = Rational, math problem
  •  System 1 always leads the way
  • The Learning Leader Circle — Apply

“Being curious is better than being smart”

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