-
Habits are the compound interest of self improvement.
-
You get what you repeat -
- Your outcomes are lagging measure of your habits.
- Your net-worth is lagging measure of your financial habits.
- Your knowledge is lagging measure of your learning habits.
- Your clutter is lagging measure of your cleaning habits!
-
Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions which build up the potential required to unleash major change.
-
We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem.
- What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results.
-
Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.
-
ex. 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, & run marketing campaigns.
-
Forget about goals, focus on systems instead.
-
-
Small changes often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold.
-
The most powerful outcomes of any compounding process are delayed.
-
You need to be patient.
-
-
If you can’t seem to get any work done, leave your phone in another room for a few hours.
- If you’re continuously feeling like you’re not enough, stop following social media accounts that trigger jealousy and envy. (PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS)
-
ENVIRONMENT :
-
Make sure the best choice is the most obvious one.
-
The mantra is “One space, one use”.
-
It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting against old cues.
-
Focus comes automatically when you are sitting at your work desk.
-
Relaxation is easier when you are in a space designed for that purpose.
-
Sleep comes quickly when it is the only thing that happens in your bedroom.
-
If you want "behaviors" that are stable and predictable, you need an "environment" that is stable and predictable.
-
-
"In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." As a result, one of the deepest human desires is - to belong.
-
and this ancient preference exerts a powerful influence on our modern behavior.
-
One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
-
ex. Bootcamps, communities, clubs, groups, teams, organisation etc.
-
Nothing sustains motivation better than belonging to the tribe. It transforms a personal quest into a shared one.
-
-
Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires.
- Habits are all about associations. These associations determine whether we predict a habit to be worth repeating or not.
-
The implementation intention formula is: I will do this] at [this timw] in (hall/bedroom/office/kitchen).
-
The habit stacking formula is: After [doing this], I will [do this].
-
Our behavior is heavily dependent on how we interpret the events that happen to us, not necessarily the objective reality of the events themselves.
-
How long does it actually take to form habit ?
-
“Neurons that fire together wire together.” said by Donald Hebb.
-
“Repetition is a form of change.” said by George H. Lewes.
-
Each time you repeat an action, you are activating a particular neural circuit associated with that habit.
-
-
"Most effective form of learning is practicing and not planning."
- Create environment where doing right things will be more easy for you, make it more accessible and you will eventually do it.
-
Make gateway hobby - Your goal might be to run a marathon, but your gateway habit should be 'to put on your running shoes'.
- Then Increase the level of difficulty!
-
Sometimes success is less about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits hard.
- The best way to break a bad habit is to make it impractical to do.
-
The problem isn’t knowledge. The problem is consistency.
-
What is rewarded is repeated, What is punished is avoided.
-
“It almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the later consequences are disastrous, and vice versa...
-
'Instance Gratification'.
-
-
With our bad habits, the immediate outcome usually feels good, but the ultimate outcome feels bad. "Short term pleasure = long term pain"
- With good habits, it is the reverse:
-
Habit tracking :
-
creates a visual cue that can remind you to act.
-
is motivating because you see the progress you are making.
-
feels satisfying whenever you record another successful instance of your habit.
-
-
“Don’t break the chain” - is a powerful mantra.
-
Don’t break the chain of workouts and you’ll get fit faster than you’d expect.
-
Don’t break the chain of creating every day and you will end up with an impressive portfolio
-
-
Measurement is only useful when it guides you and adds context to a larger picture, not when it consumes you.
-
The secret to maximizing your odds of success is to choose the right field of competition. (you want to play a game where the odds are in your favor).
- The takeaway is that you should build habits that work for your personality.
-
You don’t have to build the habits everyone tells you to build. Choose the habit that best suits you, not the one that is most popular.
-
There is a version of every habit that can bring you joy & satisfaction. Find it.
-
Habits need to be enjoyable if they are going to stick.
-
-
Turn our attention to finding and designing situations where you’re at a natural advantage.
-
What feels like fun to me, but work to others ?
-
What makes me lose track of time ?
-
Where do I get greater returns than the average person ?
-
What comes naturally to me ?
-
-
"When you can’t win by being better, you can win by being different "
-
By combining your skills, you reduce the level of competition, which makes it easier to stand out.
-
A good player works hard to win the game everyone else is playing.
-
A great player creates a new game that favors their strengths & avoids their weaknesses.
-
Even if you’re not the most naturally gifted, you can often win by being the best in a very narrow category.
- The more you master a specific skill, the harder it becomes for others to compete with you.
-
The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.
-
The human brain loves a challenge, but only if it is within an optimal zone of difficulty.
-
Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated.
-
It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting... that makes the difference.
-
-
Professionals and amateurs
-
Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way.
-
Professionals know what is important to them & work toward it with purpose; amateurs get pulled off course by the urgencies of life.
-
The upside of habits is that we can do things without thinking.
-
The downside of habits is that you get used to doing things a certain way & stop paying attention to little errors.
-
You assume you’re getting better because you’re gaining experience. In reality, you are merely reinforcing your current habits - not improving them.
-
A lack of self-awareness is poison.
- Reflection and review is the antidote.
-
The secret to getting results that lasts is - to never stop making improvements.
- It’s remarkable what you can build if you just don’t stop.
-
Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery
-
The End!
-
Happiness is simply the absence of desire. It is the idea of pleasure that we chase.
-
The source of all suffering is the desire for a change in state. This is also the source of all progress.
-
Peace occurs when you don't turn your observations into problems.
-
The pain of failure correlates to the height of expectation.
-
With a big enough why you can overcome any "how"..
-
Being curious s better than being smart.
-
Emotions drive behavior.
-
We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional.
-
Your response tends to follow your emotions.
-
Your actions reveal how badly you want something.
-
Reward is on the other side of sacrifice.
-
Self-control is difficult because its not satisfying.
-
A reward is an outcome that satisfies your craving.
-
Our expectations determine our satisfaction.
-
The gap between our cravings and our rewards determines how satisfied we feel after taking action.