The Power of Getting 1% Better Every Day

Get 1% Better Every Day

People underestimate the power of small habits. Clear emphasizes the power of getting 1% better every day. The results may not be noticeable right away, but they are compounded. In continuation, the more things you view as positive that you do, the more you will do them. Progress is the best motivator, and starting with small habits gets that positive feedback loop running. If you only focus on big improvements, you will never get consistent. Small changes are easy to do so that you will do them more often; if you do something challenging, it will drain your energy, and you will return to being the same way. Get 1% better every day, and really look out for your wins. Write down your wins and magnify them. This practice will ensure that you recognize your progress, which will motivate you to keep going.

Focus on Systems, Not Goals

If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. It’s how you're going about changing them. When you fail and you have a bad habit, that doesn’t mean you don’t want your goal enough. Bad habits keep repeating themselves, not because you don’t want them to change, but because your system is not working. Focus on creating a better system, and your habits will change. We have two separate articles teaching you how to create a better system, one on creating good habits and one on erasing bad ones.

Reshape Your Identity

Your habits are merely a reflection of your identity. What you do now is merely what you believe your identity would do. Focus on changing your identity, and your habits will follow. If you want to change your behavior, you must start believing new things about yourself. This is possible through identity-based habits. Imagine the person you would like to be; write it down. Make it realistic and specific. Ideally, change 1-3 things about your current identity in this new identity you are creating. In this activity, you want to keep everything simple and easy to ensure that you will do it. Next, under each new trait you would like to develop, write down a single habit you believe a person with this trait would do. For example, if you want to be more social, you can write that a social person would smile and say a greeting when they walk past someone. Next, write down a specific example of a realistic situation where you could do this habit. For example, state a specific person you know and make it a goal to smile and greet them the next time you see them. Despite this task's low level of difficulty, it is still 1% better than yesterday, and it is a start to something greater. When you do complete your goal, really focus on that win. Write down your experience with that win and list all the possible benefits that will come with it. Doing this positively associates the habit in your mind and will reinforce it. Continue with this habit of celebrating each win, no matter how dumb it may feel until you feel like it’s second nature to do it. Now you can set your sights higher and level up the difficulty of the original habit. For example, now smile and say a greeting to 3 people. Keep making it harder and harder until the habit is engraved in your mind. Now you have become closer to your new identity without realizing it. You have developed the trait you wanted simply by continuously doing an action you believed someone with that trait would do. This habit is part of who you are, so you will continue doing it until your identity changes. Then you can repeat this process and always forcefully build a better identity for yourself.

Citations

Atomic Habits Summary in Three Sentences

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones