⏳Using Habits to Reach Your Goals
I promised you last week that I would tell you how I plan to reach my goals and how you can reach yours.
In short, I plan to build lasting habits that work towards these goals.
James Clear gives four strategies for developing lasting habits in his book Atomic Habits.
1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy
4. Make it satisfying
There are several ways of doing this, but the easiest way to describe this is if you want to eat healthy food, put the biscuits in the cupboard and the fruit in a bowl in front of you.
So to achieve my goals of reading more and drinking more water, I have adopted two simple methods. First, I leave my Kindle on my bedside table, so as I go to bed, it is in front of me.
I have placed my water bottle where I sit to work to drink more water. I also ensure it is full in the morning, so I come down to it.
These simple activities will help build a habit. Once the habit is built, it is far easier to reach your goals.
As Clear says in his book, if we get 1% better at something a day by the end of the year, we will be 37% better at it after a year. If we get 1% worse, this will grow to 37% worse.
Ever started a project that you wanted to do every day and then not do it one day, and then the next, and after a week, you have finished, never to touch it again.
Missing one day is okay; missing two in a row is catastrophic.
If you need further help with this, put a list of your goals on chat, and we can work together on how to achieve them, using the four rules above to achieve your goals this year.
If you enjoy this email, please share it so that more readers can find it.
Until next week stay safe
Sam 😊
Personal picture of the week
Quote of the week
Being poor is not having too little, it is wanting more - Seneca
Books I'm reading
The Will to Live - Victor Frankle
The Good Samaritan - John Marrs
Sapiens - Haari, Yuval Noah
If you are interesting I read one book in each format. The Will to Live is on Kindle, ideal for reading at night without a light. Sapiens is an audiobook for listening when I am doing jobs or driving and finally I have to have a paperback with me at all times.
Articles this week
Seven Journalling Habits Stoics Used
And finally
If you would like to help buy a poor writer a coffee please click here. Thank you in advance.