One Quote

"changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you're willing to stick with them for years. We all deal with setbacks but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you'll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible... In the pages that follow, I will share a step-by-step plan for building better habits - not for days or weeks, but for a lifetime. While science supports everything I've written, this book is not an academic research paper; it's an operating manual. You'll find wisdom and practical advice front and center as I explain the science of how to create and change your habits in a way that is easy to understand and apply...The backbone of this book is my four-step model of habits - cue, craving, response, and reward - and the four laws of behavior change that evolve out of these steps... In total, the framework I offer is an integrated model of the cognitive and behavioral sciences. I believe it is one of the first models of human behavior to accurately account for both the influence of external stimuli and internal emotions on our habits. While some of the language may be familiar, I am confident that the details - and the applications of the Four Laws of Behavior Change - will offer a new way to think about your habits."
 - all found in the introduction

Synopsis

James Clear structured this book around his 4 components of a habit (cue, craving, response, reward), which extends BF Skinner's work. You have to address some or all of these 4 components if you want to form a habit or break a habit. After the introduction, Clear dedicates a section to each of the four components.. Then he wraps it up with a section on getting tactical about keeping yourself on track.

The point of view that Clear presents is persuasive and just feels right. He shares examples of how people implement those ideas, and tactics to help you succeed in your attempts to adapting your life to his framework. He has also made it really easy to see a summary of his book in his own words. Check out a quick 1-page summary of his book here Download the 1-page summary of key ideas in the book here.

PS check out this 30 minute audio summary “philosopher's notes” by Brian Johnson
https://link.heroic.us/hhZE

My Notes

Big Idea - Make it Your Identity

You should focus on your systems, protocols, algorithms, and identity rather than setting goals. The problem with goals:

1. Winners and losers have the same goals
2. Achieving a goal is a momentary and fleeting change
3. Goals imply wants, and wants imply lack, and lack implies poverty, and poverty can restrict happiness
4. Goals often create a 'yo-yo' effect

Additionally, chasing goals can get discouraging. For example, heating ice from 30 to 31 degrees may not show visible results, but at 32 degrees, it melts. This demonstrates the power of incremental progress. For these reasons, it is better to become the type of person who [insert good habit]. Or to become the type of person who wouldn't [insert bad habit].

New Identities Require Evidence

The more you reinforce a behavior, the stronger your belief becomes in your new identity as someone who [does good stuff x]. Act "as if" you already possess that trait or identity. Eventually you'll have no choice but to accept the identity.

Life can feel chaotic, making small, simple changes can help “add order” to the chaos. Clear mentions that he made a point to keep a clean and tidy dorm room instead of a messy one. A habit of going to bed early while peers stayed up late. This wisdom echoes what Jordan B Peterson has to say about order, chaos, and keeping your room tidy.

Big Idea - Make it Obvious

Implementation intention - I will [behavior] at [time] in [location]

Habit stacking - After I [do a usual thing], I will then [do a new thing]

The two most common habit cues are time, and location. Plan a specific time and location to take care of your desired habit. Visual cues are more likely to trigger behavior than other sense cues. "If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment."

Big Idea - Make it Attractive

"Most days, we'd rather be wrong with the crowd than be right by ourselves."

Join a culture where the desired behavior is the normal. That way you'll want to fit in, meaning [do the thing].

Big Idea - Make it Easy

Visualize success - I will [ BEHAVIOUR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]

Big Idea - Make it Satisfying

Celebrate small wins. This reminds me of Lanny Bassham's advice to say "that's like me" after every success. He has a few more:

• Praise yourself (“I did that really well. That’s like me.”)
• Praise someone else (“You absolutely rocked this. Greatly done!”)
• Write down 5 wins at the end of every day.
• Talk about your good behavior/performance with your friends or family.

The cardinal rule of behavior change: what is rewarded is repeated.

Big Idea - Time Dichotomy of Good/Bad Habits

Bad habits give now and cost later.

Good habits on the other hand cost now, and give later.

The costs of your good habits are in the present. The costs of your bad habits are in the future.

The question shouldn’t be “how long until a habit forms”? It ought to be “how many until a habit forms”?

Don't Break a Streak

Show up on your "bad" days. If you got a good thing going, try your best. Don't post a zero - make even a small nominal effort. This reminds me of Nassim Taleb's antifragile concept. The worse you feel, the more committed you are to your protocol. 

Never Miss Twice

I just love this rule. We all are bound to fail at some point or another. It's inevitable. As Brian Johnson always says, there are no perfect humans... and you won't be the first. When we get knocked off balance, the best thing we can do is recover quickly. Never miss twice.

Big Idea - Decisive Moments, and the 2-minute Rule

To get out of bed or not? 

Make it possible to succeed in your habit in 2 minutes or less. You can initiate the longer-lasting habit by doing a 2-minute action. Example - when I put on my running shoes it takes 2 minutes, and leads to a 25 minute run.

Other Notes

You have to make your goal to reach your potential because each person has their own. This reminds me of Brian Johnson's advice to be your heroic best.

Most of us fail to change because we’re not consistent enough to overcome our “old self”. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

We are what we do. The word 'identity' derives from Latin, meaning repeated being-ness. 

Non-Scale Victories 

Sometimes you don't lose weight, but you get other benefits - slim down, wake up earlier, or get a boost to sex drive. These are non-scale victories.

Find a game where the odds are in your favor

Summary

"Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine."

"Small habits don't add up. They compound."

1. Cue - Make it obvious / Make it invisible

2. Craving - Make it attractive / Make it ugly

3. Response - Make it easy / Make it impossible

4. Reward - Make it satisfying / Make it painful

Related

Check out what John D. Rockefeller has to say on habits: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Mdq3qWxOSszwqWXMm5J3v?si=sumzqxFZQzuVYROAH5083w&t=2918

Aristotle said, "Excellence, then, being of these two kinds, intellectual and moral, intellectual excellence owes its birth and growth mainly to instruction, and so requires time and experience, while moral excellence is the result of habit or custom." Will Durant in "The Story of Philosophy" paraphrased it succinctly when he wrote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit".