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5 Common Mistakes That Cause New Habits to Fail by James Clear

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Rafiz Uddin:
PROBLEM 5: Assuming Small Changes Don’t Add Up.

SOLUTION: Get one percent better each day.

If you listen to nearly anyone talk about their goals, you’ll hear them describe the minimum that they want to achieve.

    “I want to save at least $5,000 this year.”
    “I want to read at least 30 books this year.”
    “I want to lose at least 20 pounds before summer.”

The underlying assumption is that your achievements need to be big to make a difference. Because of this, we always talk ourselves into chasing a big habit. “If I want to lose at least 20 pounds, I need to start busting my butt and working out for 90 minutes a day!”

If you look at your current habits, however, you’ll see a different picture. Nearly every habit you have today, good or bad, is the result of many small choices made over time. It is the repeated pattern of small behaviors that leads to significant results. Each day we make the choice to become one percent better or one percent worse, but so often the choices are small enough that we miss them.

If you’re serious about building a new habit, then start with something small. Start with something you can stick with for good. Then, once you’ve repeated it enough times, you can worry about increasing the intensity.

Build the behavior first. Worry about the results later.

If you want more practical ideas for breaking bad habits and creating good habits, check out my book Atomic Habits, which will show you how small changes in habits can lead to remarkable results.

Rafiz Uddin:
Footnotes

    There are several studies and articles quoting either a 90 percent or 92 percent failure rate. I’ll go with the 81 percent failure rate, which comes from a research study by psychology professor John Norcross. He tracked the success rate of New Year’s resolutions over a two-year span.

    I think BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits program is great. I believe it is also free, so you can't beat the price.

    Quote from Tony Schwartz featured in the book, Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career

Rafiz Uddin:
Sources:
https://jamesclear.com/habits-fail

Anta:
Thanks for sharing  :)

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