Mes highlights
a strategy that he referred to as “the aggregation of marginal gains,” which was the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do.
Why do small improvements accumulate into such remarkable results, and how can you replicate this approach in your own life?
improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run
It is only when looking back two, five, or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent.
If you want to predict where you’ll end up in life, all you have to do is follow the curve of tiny gains or tiny losses, and see how your daily choices will compound ten or twenty years down the line. Are you spending less than you earn each month? Are you making it into the gym each week? Are you reading books and learning something new each day? Tiny battles like these are the ones that will define your future self.
But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results. It’s the accumulation of many missteps—a 1 percent decline here and there—that eventually leads to a problem.
Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations
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.
The more tasks you can handle without thinking, the more your brain is free to focus on other areas.
If you find yourself struggling to build a good habit or break a bad one, it is not because you have lost your ability to improve. It is often because you have not yet crossed the Plateau of Latent Potential. Complaining about not achieving success despite working hard is like complaining about an ice cube not melting when you heated it from twenty-five to thirty-one degrees. Your work was not wasted; it is just being stor
Mastery requires patience.
We often expect progress to be linear. At the very least, we hope it will come quickly. In reality, the results of our efforts are often delayed. It is not until months or years later that we realize the true value of the previous work we have done.
Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
The goal had always been there. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome
In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.
Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.
goals create an “either-or” conflict: either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and you are a disappointment.
A systems-first mentality provides the antidote. When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy
The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking
Small changes often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold
Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way
deepest layer is changing your identity. This level is concerned with changing your beliefs: your worldview, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and others.
Behavior that is incongruent with the self will not last. You may want more money, but if your identity is someone who consumes rather than creates, then you’ll continue to be pulled toward spending rather than earning. You may want better health, but if you continue to prioritize comfort over accomplishment, you’ll be drawn to relaxing rather than training.
You have a new goal and a new plan, but you haven’t changed who you are
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.
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.
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.
Many people walk through life in a cognitive slumber, blindly following the norms attached to their identity. “I’m terrible with directions.” “I’m not a morning person.”
When I began my writing career, I published a new article every Monday and Thursday for the first few years. As the evidence grew, so did my identity as a writer. I didn’t start out as a writer. I became one through my habits.
The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior
This is a gradual evolution. We do not change by snapping our fingers and deciding to be someone entirely new. We change bit by bit, day by day, habit by habit
Each time you write a page, you are a writer. Each time you practice the violin, you are a musician.
Of course, it works the opposite way, too. Every time you choose to perform a bad habit, it’s a vote for that identity.
It is a simple two-step process: Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
For example, “Who is the type of person who could write a book?” It’s probably someone who is consistent and reliable. Now your focus shifts from writing a book (outcome-based) to being the type of person who is consistent and reliable (identity-based).
I have a friend who lost over 100 pounds by asking herself, “What would a healthy person do?” All day long, she would use this question as a guide. Would a healthy person walk or take a cab? Would a healthy person order a burrito or a salad? She figured if she acted like a healthy person long enough, eventually she would become that person
Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits. It’s a two-way street. The formation of all habits is a feedback loop
The focus should always be on becoming that type of person, not getting a particular outcome.
You have a choice in every moment. You can choose the identity you want to reinforce today with the habits you choose today
The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.
Now, whenever you feel stressed, you get the itch to run. As soon as you walk in the door from work, you grab the video game controller. A choice that once required effort is now automatic. A habit has been created.
A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic
you stumble across a solution. You’re feeling anxious, and you discover that going for a run calms you down. You’re mentally exhausted from a long day of work, and you learn that playing video games relaxes you. You’re exploring, exploring, exploring, and then—BAM—a reward.
Building habits in the present allows you to do more of what you want in the future.
Habits are mental shortcuts learned from experience
Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks
Habits do not restrict freedom. They create it. In fact, the people who don’t have their habits handled are often the ones with the least amount of freedom. Without good financial habits, you will always be struggling for the next dollar. Without good health habits, you will always seem to be short on energy. Without good learning habits, you will always feel like you’re behind the curve. If you’re always being forced to make decisions about simple tasks—when should I work out, where do I go to write, when do I pay the bills—then you have less time for freedom
The process of building a habit can be divided into four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.*
Without some level of motivation or desire—without craving a change—we have no reason to act
Whether a response occurs depends on how motivated you are and how much friction is associated with the behavior.
Rewards are the end goal of every habit. The cue is about noticing the reward. The craving is about wanting the reward. The response is about obtaining the reward. We chase rewards because they serve two purposes: (1) they satisfy us and (2) they teach us.
Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start. Reduce the craving and you won’t experience enough motivation to act. Make the behavior difficult and you won’t be able to do it. And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again in the future
Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the problems you face.
Whenever you want to change your behavior, you can simply ask yourself: How can I make it obvious? How can I make it attractive? How can I make it easy? How can I make it satisfying?
Most of us never give a second thought to the fact that we tie the same shoe first each morning, or unplug the toaster after each use, or always change into comfortable clothes after getting home from work. After decades of mental programming, we automatically slip into these patterns of thinking and acting.
How to Create a Good Habit The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious. The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive. The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy. The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying. We can invert these laws to learn how to break a bad habit. How to Break a Bad Habit Inversion of the 1st law (Cue): Make it invisible. Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving): Make it unattractive. Inversion of the 3rd law (Response): Make it difficult. Inversion of the 4th law (Reward): Make it unsatisfying.
If you have ever wondered, “Why don’t I do what I say I’m going to do? Why don’t I lose the weight or stop smoking or save for retirement or start that side business? Why do I say something is important but never seem to make time for it?” The answers to those questions can be found somewhere in these four laws
With enough practice, you can pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it. Automatically, your brain encodes the lessons learned through experience.
This is one of the most surprising insights about our habits: you don’t need to be aware of the cue for a habit to begin. You can notice an opportunity and take action without dedicating conscious attention to it. This is what makes habits useful
It’s also what makes them dangerous. As habits form, your actions come under the direction of your automatic and nonconscious mind. You fall into old patterns before you realize what’s happening
And the more you repeat these patterns, the less likely you become to question what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
The more automatic a behavior becomes, the less likely we are to consciously think about it. And when we’ve done something a thousand times before, we begin to overlook things. We assume that the next time will be just like the last.
We need a “point-and-call” system for our personal lives. That’s the origin of the Habits Scorecard, which is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior. To create your own, make a list of your daily habits.
look at each behavior, and ask yourself, “Is this a good habit, a bad habit, or a neutral habit?” If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. If it is a bad habit, write “–”. If it is a neutral habit, write “=”.
For this exercise, categorize your habits by how they will benefit you in the long run. Generally speaking, good habits will have net positive outcomes. Bad habits have net negative outcomes
Habits that reinforce your desired identity are usually good. Habits that conflict with your desired identity are usually bad.
If you eat a chocolate bar every morning, acknowledge it, almost as if you were watching someone else. Oh, how interesting that they would do such a thing. If you binge-eat, simply notice that you are eating more calories than you should. If you waste time online, notice that you are spending your life in a way that you do not want to. The first step to changing bad habits is to be on the lookout for them
Just saying out loud, “Tomorrow, I need to go to the post office after lunch,” increases the odds that you’ll actually do it. You’re getting yourself to acknowledge the need for action—and that can make all the difference
The Habits Scorecard is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior.
Your habits change depending on the room you are in and the cues in front of you.
Environment design allows you to take back control and become the architect of your life. Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it
I know a writer who uses his computer only for writing, his tablet only for reading, and his phone only for social media and texting. Every habit should have a home.
perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment.
If you’re not careful about cues, you can cause the very behavior you want to stop
I have never seen someone consistently stick to positive habits in a negative environment.
If you can’t seem to get any work done, leave your phone in another room for a few hours.
This is the secret to self-control. Make the cues of your good habits obvious and the cues of your bad habits invisible.
Humans are also prone to fall for exaggerated versions of reality. Junk food, for example, drives our reward systems into a frenzy
Desire is the difference between where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Even the tiniest action is tinged with the motivation to feel differently than you do in the moment
You don’t “have” to. You “get” to. You get to wake up early for work. You get to make another sales call for your business. You get to cook dinner for your family
Instead of telling yourself “I need to go run in the morning,” say “It’s time to build endurance and get fast.”
Create a motivation ritual by doing something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.
We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. As Voltaire once wrote, “The best is the enemy of the good.”
If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that’s motion. If I actually eat a healthy meal, that’s action.
The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning.
the less energy a habit requires, the more likely it is to occur
One of the most effective ways to reduce the friction associated with your habits is to practice environment design
The Japanese companies looked for every point of friction in the manufacturing process and eliminated it
When I walk into a room everything is in its right place,” Nuckols wrote. “Because I do this every day in every room
The greater the friction, the less likely the habit.
How can we design a world where it’s easy to do what’s right?” Redesign your life so the actions that matter most are also the actions that are easiest to do.
Chapter Summary
We all want better lives for our future selves. However, when the moment of decision arrives, instant gratification usually wins
wakes up at 5:55 each morning. And if he doesn’t, he has a tweet automatically scheduled that says, “It’s 6:10 and I’m not up because I’m lazy! Reply
to this for $5 via PayPal (limit 5), assuming my alarm didn’t malfunction.”
genes do not determine your destiny. They determine your areas of opportunity.
working out like a bodybuilder, but if you prefer rock climbing or cycling or rowing, then shape your exercise habit around your interests
if you prefer steamy romance novels over nonfiction. Read whatever fascinates you.* You don’t have to build the habits everyone tells you to build.
The human brain loves a challenge, but only if it is within an optimal zone of difficulty
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
the way to maintain motivation and achieve peak levels of desire is to work on tasks of “just manageable difficulty.”
the core idea of the Goldilocks Rule remains: working on challenges of just manageable difficulty—something on the perimeter of your ability—seems crucial for maintaining motivation.
You need to regularly search for challenges that push you to your edge while continuing to make enough progress to stay motivated. Behaviors need to remain novel in order for them to stay attractive and satisfying. Without variety, we get bored. And boredom is perhaps the greatest villain on the quest for self-improvement.
The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom
Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way
Professionals take action even when the mood isn’t right. They might not enjoy it, but they find a way to put the reps in
You have to fall in love with boredom.
But after one habit has been mastered, you have to return to the effortful part of the work and begin building the next habit.
Each habit unlocks the next level of performance
“I’m the CEO” translates to “I’m the type of person who builds and creates things.”
Everything is impermanent. Life is constantly changing, so you need to periodically check in to see if your old habits and beliefs are still serving you.
It’s remarkable what you can build if you just don’t stop. It’s remarkable the business you can build if you don’t stop working. It’s remarkable the body you can build if you don’t stop training.