In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear explains that by improving 1% each day for a full year, you will have become 37 times better at the end of the year because of the compounding effect. On the other hand, if you get 1% worse every day, you would just go back to zero. When we think about habit formation or making new changes to ourselves, we always go for the fast and easy solution which is why we end up failing most of the time. Real change comes from the small habits that we develop and the little choices that we make for ourselves every day.
According to James Clear's book, habit is defined as a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic, with the ultimate purpose of solving the problems of life with as little energy and effort as possible. To start creating new habits, James has come up with 4 Laws of Behaviour Change that can help us form new habits successfully.
These are:
Make it obvious
Make it attractive
Make it easy
Make it satisfying
These laws can also be put in reverse if we want to stop a bad habit successfully - we simply change them to:
Make it invisible
Make it unattractive
Make it difficult
Make it unsatisfying
First Law: Make It Obvious
Making a new habit obvious means that we need to set up a cue that we can easily notice to be able to remember what particular habit it is we're trying to start. For example, if your guitar is in the middle of the living room, you are more likely to practice with it. If you constantly carry a water bottle, you are more likely to drink it. If you have a book beside your bed, you are more likely to read it. Making a bad habit invisible as well means that we have to hide the cue that precipitates the said habit. For example, if you put your phone away from your bed then you won't be able to use it. If you put your PS4 in a cupboard instead of leaving it outside, you won't be able to remember to play it. If you don't keep desserts in your fridge, then you won't have any to eat. In habit-formation, cues are very important in making sure a habit is either formed or eliminated.
Second Law: Make It Attractive
Making a new habit attractive means that we need to pair that certain habit with something that we might like or enjoy. For example, exercising is more enjoyable when you are listening to music. Reading a book is more relaxing if you are drinking a cup of coffee or lemonade. You're more likely to do journaling if you're using a special notebook or a special pen. Making bad habits disappear also means we have to make them unattractive and we can do this by thinking of the consequences. For example, smoking doesn't relieve your nerves, it destroys them. Sleeping late makes you sleepy all day and makes you miss important things during the day. You are what you eat, so eating unhealthy food makes you unhealthy.
Third Law: Make It Easy
Making a new habit easy means that we have to understand and accept that human behavior always follows the law of least effort. We will always choose to do the option that requires the least amount of work. For example, doing 5 push-ups per day is more likely to be sustained than doing 20 push-ups per day. Studying a foreign language for 30 minutes per day can be more sustainable, rather than doing it 3 hours per day. Eating a healthy diet would be easier if your fridge is full of healthy food in the first place. On the other hand, eliminating bad habits can be done by making them difficult. You can't overspend at the grocery if you've only brought a certain amount of cash. You can't play your PS4 more often if they're disassembled. You can't smoke a cigarette if you didn't buy it in the first place.
Fourth Law: Make It Satisfying
Lastly, the fourth law of creating successful habits is to make them satisfying or rewarding. It is easier to start and be consistent with a habit if somewhere in the middle, you give yourself a few rewards from time to time. For example, you can give yourself a cheat meal where you can eat whatever you want after sticking to a healthy diet for a week. You can buy yourself some new clothes every time you lose a few pounds on the scale. You can reward yourself with a holiday or vacation after completing a certain project. The opposite, however, of eliminating bad habits is to make them unsatisfying. For example, getting an accountability partner who makes you feel guilty every time you lose track of your diet. A partner could also make you feel pressured every time you smoke a cigarette. You can also make a bet with someone and lose money if you don't achieve a certain goal, such as giving $100 to your friend and losing it to them if you don't lose 2 kg of weight this month.
By sticking to these four laws, we can be more guided on how to create new good habits and eliminate bad habits. Habits eventually become automatic which is why we need to be careful and selective of what we want ourselves to be doing.
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