I have read almost every article on the James Clear website, and spent the first 3 months of 2022 trying to build the discipline of consistency. 

Are you struggling to build or maintain certain habits? These are the lessons that stood out the most to me, and I hope they give you something to reflect on. 

Habits shape our identity

Focus on who you want to become, and then choose habits to build. There ought to be a personal belief behind every habit, as opposed to simply picking what someone else is choosing to do, or what is trending. 

What type of person do you want to identify yourself as? – It could be personal, work, relationships, etc.

• When you eat healthy everyday and work out regularly, you embody the identity of a healthy and active person.
• When you take time out of each day to say ‘thank you’, you embody the identity of a grateful person.
• If you want to become an author, you make time to write everyday. 

There are many other examples you can find when you subscribe to the James Clear mailing list. 

What are your values? – community, creativity, growth, health, beauty, wealth, stability, service, etc. You can find more examples here.

Environment Vs. Motivation

Create an environment that encourages you to stick to your habits. Motivation is overvalued. There will be lots of difficult days with little to no motivation. 

• Subtract negative influences
• Automate good decisions wherever possible
• Strategise/design an environment for the habits you want to build to fit in the flow of my ‘normal’ behaviour/schedule. 
• Alter the space that you work and live in to ease decision making. 
• Invest in things/activities that may provide motivation to keep going.
• Maintain relationships that propel you to achieve your identity / successfully build your habit. 

Standardisation before optimisation

When trying to building a new habit, it should only take a few minutes to do it. Don’t bite off more than you can chew at the beginning. Master the art of showing up by keeping it short, and then improve on it later. 

Automation

Choose a path along your daily routine to ‘reduce friction’ in building a new habit.

Focus

One thing at a time. One habit at a time. 

Rewards

At the beginning, results are not visible yet. Rewarding yourself is a reminder that the process is worth it. Choose a reward that is in line with the habit / identity you are working towards. For example, reward consistently working out with a massage, not a bucket of KFC. 

Relationships

The tribes (family, friends, relationships, clubs, business partners, religions, etc) we belong to influence our choices everyday. The culture around usually set our expectations for what we consider ‘normal’. Surround yourself / join groups where your desired habits are considered ‘normal’. This helps to make them seem more achievable. 

Plateau of latent potential

The gap between what we expect and what we experience. We are putting in the work daily but feeling stuck. This is why you have to track your progress. A visual representation that time is being invested, not wasted. 

If you like to keep track of your progress, the Phoenix journal makes for a a good habit tracker. Set the mood with a Karobwa Scents candle and journal away….Shop this combo here.

What has been your experience? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, and anything else you would like me to post about.

You got this far?! Thank you for reading!