If you’ve been going to church for 20 years, you’ll consider yourself a religious person. Who you are is what you repeat every day. While good habits can make sense intellectually, if they are at odds with your identity, you won’t put them into action. The hardest habits to break are those that are enmeshed with your sense of self. It’d be easier to maintain the habits surrounding these activities, as they’d feel like part of who you are. Say, for example, you had impressive biceps or were particularly proud of your hand-knitted scarves. If you are proud of a certain aspect of your identity, you’re more likely to build a system of habits around maintaining and developing it. Thus, changing your habits means changing your identity. You can’t change your habits if you haven’t altered your underlying beliefs first.

Consequently, any behavior that doesn’t match your core self won’t last. Behind every system of action is a system of beliefs. To create habits that last, you need to focus on who you wish to become. When choosing which habits to cultivate, people often focus on what they want to achieve. By implementing a routine that is small and easy to accomplish, you will create a system of compound growth. Consequently, a slight change in your habits can have a dramatic effect on the course of your life – for good and for bad. Like compound interest, the effect of your habits multiplies over time. However, the difference a small, regular improvement can make can be astounding.

Too often, we mistakenly believe that great success requires great action.

Small habits helped him fulfill his potential, and by following his advice, he believes they can help you, too. Clear is convinced that the quality of your habits dictate the quality of your life. The recipe for his success? Start small and collect a series of small wins and tiny breakthroughs. Six years after the injury, Clear was selected as the top athlete at Denison University and accepted onto the ESPN Academic All-America Team. What Is James Clears’ Atomic Habits About?

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