date: 14-Jan-2024
status: #status/unprocessed
type: #type/knowledge#type/quote
area: #area/cultivation#area/life
keyword: #keyword/habit#keyword/atomic

Small stuff adds up.

The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.

— James Clear

People are often scared, worried, and avoid the wrong things. Often, it is not a big mistake or a very unfortunate event that ruins you. In fact, it’s the small daily mistakes that we often overlook. Those mistakes pile up to form our doom.

Start Small, Be Consistent.

The same principle applies to building habits. Habits don’t just pop up out of nowhere, they also can’t be made overnight. Habits are repeated actions that we consistently make.

All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger.

— James Clear

Make your habits your identity.

Wanting to maintain good habit can be quite difficult, and one the greatest motivation to help you with keep up your habits is to make them your identity.

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.

— James Clear

If people knows you as the nerd guy, and if you are proud of your identity as a nerd guy, you will naturally develop all sorts of habits related to being a nerd.

Just do it.

One of the recipes for building habits is to start. Some people often make excuses, waiting for the right time or the right place. But deep down, we know it’s nothing but excuses. So pull yourself together and start now!

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