Three key points, to help you form strong habits, from James Clear’s bestseller; Atomic Habits.
I. Goals are Overrated
We place too much emphasis on goals.
Take New Years Resolutions as an example; each year, thousands, if not millions of people, set themselves goals for the next year.
How many of those people actually hit their goals, however? How many of those people stay consistent and live up to their word?
Not many. The statistics show that people are most likely to quit on themselves by January 19th.
It is evident that setting goals is simply not enough to ensure success.
Setting goals is beneficial, yes, for they provide a strong direction and something to work for. But goals, on their own, are not sufficient. In this respect, they are overrated.
If anything, goals can be the very thing that get in the way of your progress!
Goals Are Binary
What are the main issue with goals?
They Are Binary.
In most cases, it’s either that you reach a goal or you don’t.
With this mindset, you’re boxing yourself into a very narrow view of success.
Success, and life itself, is not linear. You cannot expect to continue on an upward trajectory.
There will be ups and downs. Goals, unfortunately, do not account for that.
With this fixed, binary view, you have no room to make mistakes, you have no room to face those downs.
However, in order to actually become successful, you need the space to make mistakes, and you need to recognise that things are not linear.
Goals, in some cases, can prevent you from making the necessary mistakes you need to excel. Their binary nature can hold you back.
Action Points
With the notion that goals themselves are binary, and that they can serve to hold you back from true greatness, what’s the way forward?
Rather than relying too heavily on goals, cultivate a set of systems.
Goals VS Systems
Systems are the very thing that enable people to stick with their habits, and therefore, to achieve their goals.
The difference between goals and systems is this;
- Goals are about the results you want to achieve.
- Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.
Setting a goal is great, important and necessary. You set goals so that you have some sort of direction, and end result that you’re striving to achieve.
Systems, however, are the small processes that actually make those results possible.
Examples;
- If you’re a coach, your goal might be to win a championship. Your system is the way you recruit players, manage your assistant coaches, and conduct practice.
- If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal might be to build a million-dollar business. Your system is how you test product ideas, hire employees, and run marketing campaigns.
- If you’re a musician, your goal might be to play a new piece. Your system is how often you practice, how you break down and tackle difficult measures, and your method for receiving feedback from your instructor.
Goals are not entirely useless, but systems are best for making progress.
II. The Benefits of Habit Stacking
Habit Stacking is an incredibly efficient, and fairly easy, way to cultivate new habits, and to ensure that they stick around.
Habit Stacking itself is the process of stacking habits on top of each other; in other words, doing one habit, then another, then another, in a routine.
It’s the process of pairing the new habit you want to cultivate with an old habit you already have.
For example, you may want to start meditating in a morning.
To stack this habit, you can take a look at your current morning routine and find a great place to slot it in.
You must ensure that whichever habit you choose to be before the meditation stays before the meditation, for it acts as a cue. You know that after you perform X habit, it’s time to meditate.
Habit stacking helps you create a lifestyle full of consistency.
There is no point performing good habits every once in a while; you reap the true benefits when they’re performed with consistency.
The process of habit stacking ensures that, when it comes to performing the new habit, the ball is already rolling, you have the momentum, and all you have to do is ride the wave.
In this case, not performing the habit requires much more effort than performing it, for it’s stacked alongside other strong habits.
III. Build Identity Based Habits
Where We Go Wrong
There are two ways in which people go wrong when trying to build strong habits; they focus too much on outcome based habits, and spare no thought for identity based habits.
Outcome Based Habits
Many of us fail miserably when we try and change, as we have the wrong direction.
People focus too heavily on outcome based habits.
Many begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve in the future.
They focus on the end goal, the reward, the victory in the future.
They think that if they alter the end results that they themselves, magically, will change too. This belief, of course, is wrong. A different outcome does not mean a different identity too.
These types of habits are outcome based habits; always doing things for something in the future.
There are a million problems that arise in basing your life in the future.
One clear problem is the fact that the future is not guaranteed!
You can form outcome based habits, but what is guaranteeing that you’ll actually hit that outcome? Nothing.
Lack Of Identity Based Habits
What we go on to discuss is identity, leading us to another grave issue; most people don’t even consider identity change when they set out to improve.
Most people set out to improve, or change their lives, and only focus on the results and the things they want to change.
Without considering the core identity, however, none of it will truly work.
What holds these people, and therefore you, back are limiting beliefs.
When you fail to consider the identity, no matter what action steps you take, you still identify as somebody else, and that holds you back.
Consequently, not focusing on those beliefs makes them become limiting; it is hard to act if it is not in alignment with who you think you are.
That old belief, any old belief, can sabotage new plans for change.
It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior.
You may want better health, but if you continue to prioritize comfort over accomplishment, you’ll be drawn to relaxing rather than training. The action of training doesn’t align with identity, although it does with the goals. But the identity is always stronger, so the training wont happen and the goal wont be met.
Focus On Identity
To solve the issues, and bring about change, we need to build identity based habits.
These are habits that focus on who we wish to become, not where we want to be or what we want to achieve.
These are habits that focus on you, and they target your core beliefs about yourself.
They don’t focus on the future, or on the actions you’ll take; they come from the heart of you now.
Behind every system of actions are a system of beliefs
Otherwise, why would we act at all?
We have specific beliefs, about ourselves, others, the world, and that causes us to take action.
Whatever we inwardly believe determines what we outwardly do.
Behaviour that is incongruent with the self will not last.
If, behind every action there’s a system of beliefs, trying to do something that doesn’t align with the system of believes will rarely last. It’s incompatible; to act in a way that doesn’t work with your identity isn’t acting as you.
You have to change who you are, not just what you do and what you want.
True behavior change is identity change.
You might start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity
When you are motivated by the fact that the habit coincides with your identity, you’re more likely to stick with it.
For example,
- The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.
- The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner.
- The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.
These identity based habits are more likely to stick, as they target the actual identity. Someone who sees themselves as a reader is more likely to read a couple of books!
Your behaviours are usually a reflection of your identity. Whatever and whoever you think you are is demonstrated in what you do.
The more strongly hat something is associated with who you are, the more likely that you are to perform it
In Conclusion
When trying to form strong habits, there are many problems that arise.
James Clear, however, among dozens of other solutions, provides 3 key ideas that can aid you in overcoming the issues, and forming long-lasting, durable habits.
- Goals are overrated; focus on systems.
- Implement habit stacking.
- Build identity based habits.
