The Literary and Mustard Society: Coronavirus Edition

Okay, so I was going to read a new book called The Male Brain for this...but I'm only like halfway through, so I'm going to tell you about a book I have read fully and that has changed my life! The Book of Mormon. (Just kidding, although it has.)

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I stumbled upon James Clear's writings by Googling some problem I was trying to solve and finding his blog. I love anything practical that can be applied to life and its problems, so his writings hit home for me. A few months later, he released his book Atomic Habits.

Oh man. So many good ideas to share. Let's dive in.

1. Clear talks about the aggregation of marginal gains, which means lots of tiny, 1% improvements that add up. He shared a story about the British cycling team. They used to rank very low on the international level. So low, in fact, that "one of the top bike manufacturers in Europe refused to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the Brits using their gear." Ouch.

However, they got a new coach and he used, you guessed it, marginal gains:

"Brailsford and his coaches began by making small adjustments you might expect from a professional cycling team. But they didn’t stop there. Brailsford and his team continued to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas. They tested different types of massage gels to see which one led to the fastest muscle recovery. They hired a surgeon to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the chances of catching a cold. They determined the type of pillow and mattress that led to the best night’s sleep for each rider. They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes."

What was the result? A few years later, the team set nine Olympic records and seven world records. Of course, the coach noted that the team also made the big changes that matter. But man, those marginal gains.

2. Sometimes it's easy to get frustrated if you don't get the results you're looking for immediately. Clear points out that it's more helpful to focus on the direction you're headed rather than the distance. He says to think about what your life will look like in five years if you are consistent with your habits.

"Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat."

3. One idea that has stuck with me is that if you are struggling to stick to a habit, focus on changing your systems, not necessarily your willpower. I've tried doing this and it has helped me so much. For example, I've set boundaries for myself to not go on social media until I have done scripture study, read a book for a few minutes, and exercised. This routine is laid back enough that I can stick to it pretty easily, despite how my schedule looks for the day. Get ready for a lot of quotes. I couldn't choose just one.

"I began to realize that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed."

"Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results."

"If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still succeed?"

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

"In the short-run, you can choose to overpower temptation. In the long-run, we become a product of the environment that we live in. To put it bluntly, I have never seen someone consistently stick to positive habits in a negative environment."

"Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one. You may be able to resist temptation once or twice, but it’s unlikely you can muster the willpower to override your desires every time."

4. He talks about how identity plays in to habits. If you can do something enough for it to become part of your identity, it becomes easier to stick to it because you see yourself as someone who does those things.

"The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it. If you’re proud of how your hair looks, you’ll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it. If you’re proud of the size of your biceps, you’ll make sure you never skip an upper-body workout. If you’re proud of the scarves you knit, you’ll be more likely to spend hours knitting each week. Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits."

"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."

I'll stop there because I could go ON. In conclusion, if you like self-improvement books, give Atomic Habits a try, or even check out @jamesclear on Instagram or his weekly emails that have just three quick, powerful principles.

To thank you for reading along, have a piece of virtual cake and you have a great day!