All big things come from small beginnings. Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
When we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound unto toxic results.
It’s only by making the fundamentals of life easier that you can create the mental space needed for free thinking and creativity.
Identity
Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits. Behind every system of actions is a system of beliefs. It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior. 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. You might start habit because of motivation, but the only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity. Research has shown that once a person believes in a particular aspect of their identity, they are more likely to act in alignment with that belief. The more deeply a thought or action is tied to your identity, the more difficult it is to change it even if it is wrong. The biggest barrier to positive change at any level- individual, team, society – is identity conflict. Good habits can make rational sense, but if they conflict with your identity, you will fail to put them into action. Every belief, including those about yourself, is learned and conditioned through experience. The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior. New identity requires new evidence.
Are you becoming the type of person you want to become? The first step is not what or how, but who. You need to know who you want to be. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity. You have the power to change your beliefs about yourself. You have a choice in every moment.
Awareness
Many of our failures in performance are largely attributable to a lack of self-awareness. One of our greatest challenges in changing habits is maintaining awareness of what we are actually doing.
Environment
Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. Many of the actions we take each day are shaped not by purposeful drive and choice but by the most obvious option. You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be architect of it. Every habit is initiated by a cue, and we are more likely to notice cues that stand out. If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment.