Success and progress are driven by… habits. And they, in turn, allow you to form small steps that just need to be repeated many times. How to learn to do it? Advice from motivation expert James Clear.
One-time breakthroughs do not bring us closer to victory, only tiny changes that have become habitual lead to it. James Clear, author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits and motivational expert, is convinced of this. The blogger who once enjoyed the first thousand subscribers now collects hundreds of thousands of “likes” under his posts precisely because of habits and the four-step model he created himself, as well as the four laws of behavior change.
In addition, Clear survived an artificial coma and, thanks to planned small steps, not only returned to life, but also entered the university baseball team. His ideas can be used not only in business, but in personal life, including when creating a family and raising children.
Every time we are faced with a new life situation, the brain has to make a decision: how to react this time? “Brain activity is very high at this point,” Clear explains. You carefully analyze the situation and make informed decisions. The brain determines the most effective program of action.
A habit is a set of automatic solutions that allow you to deal with problems.
Sometimes we stumble upon the right solution unexpectedly, like a monkey who accidentally presses a lever and gets a banana. There is a possibility that we, having received an unexpected reward, will change our strategy for the future. The brain will begin to record the events that preceded the «banana»: «How did I come to this?»
It is a feedback loop that is behind everything we do: try, fail, learn, try differently. We gradually refuse useless actions, and useful ones are fixed. This is how a habit is formed. In other words, a habit is a set of automatic solutions that allow you to deal with problems. These are mental «hot keys» that have arisen through experience. And at this moment, our brain is freed from the laborious need to look for a solution again.
Small steps strategy
But, despite the expediency and apparent effectiveness of habits, some still fear that they will make their life boring. They do not want to condemn themselves to a lifestyle in which they cannot enjoy spontaneity, and seem to be faced with a choice: habit or freedom. But one does not exclude the other — rather complements.
James Clear is sure that when habits are brought to automatism, the brain gets free and can focus on new challenges and solving non-standard tasks. Forming habits will help you spend more time doing what you really want to do in the future.
Perhaps someone can achieve incredible success in one day. “But personally, I don’t know such people, and I myself am definitely not one of them. There has never been a single turning point in my journey from a comatose patient to a player. There were many such moments. It was an evolution, a long series of small victories and tiny achievements.
The only way to make progress was a strategy of small steps. I adopted the same strategy a few years later when I started my own business and started working on a book.” Each «small step» actually turned into a conscious habit.
How to form a habit consciously?
From incentive to reward
Based on research data from psychologists, James Clear developed a four-stage model of habit formation: stimulus, desire, response, reward.
The first stage is incentive. It induces the brain to initiate this or that behavior. This is a piece of information that «predicts» future rewards. We spend a lot of time learning about the stimuli that promise us secondary rewards—money, power, status, praise, approval, love, friendship. Sometimes these benefits are not immediately obvious, but if they are found, the incentive will immediately become desirable for us.
Desire is the second step. It is the motivating factor behind any habit. We are motivated not by the process of brushing our teeth, but by the expected freshness and cleanliness in the mouth. We don’t want to turn on the TV — we want entertainment, pleasure.
Feelings of Satisfaction and Disappointment Are Part of the Feedback Mechanism
The third step is reaction. It is a regular habit according to which we act or think. Whether a reaction occurs depends on the motivation and on the amount of complexity that is associated with the behavior (which is the reaction). If a certain action requires more physical and mental effort than we are willing to spend, then most likely we will not do it.
“Our response depends on the possibilities. It sounds simple, but a habit really won’t form if we’re not able to do something. If you want to play basketball but can’t jump high enough to shoot, then you’re out of luck: you just can’t do it.» But if we really want to shoot the ball, then we will take some action: we will jump and jump (noticing the most effective movements), look for ways to get a reward — throwing in the basket and feeling the satisfaction of winning.
As a result, the reaction brings a reward. (reinforcement) that serves two purposes: to satisfy and teach us. It is reinforcement that teaches us what actions are worth remembering for the future. The brain is a device for detecting reinforcements. Feelings of satisfaction and frustration are part of the feedback mechanism that helps the brain recognize useful and useless actions.
Laws of Behavior Change
All of these stages—stimulus, desire, response, rewards—influence virtually every decision we make. But first of all, it is necessary to translate these four steps into practical recommendations, which is what James Clear does in his book.
He called them the four laws (levers) of behavior change. If each lever is in the right position, habit formation is effortless. If not, then it is almost impossible to form a good habit. With their help, you can eradicate bad habits.
- Law 1 (incentive) — evidence
- Law 2 (Desire) — Attractiveness
- Law 3 (reaction) — simplicity
- Law 4 (Reward) — Satisfaction
If we want to change behavior (for example, get rid of a bad habit), we must ask ourselves a few questions:
1. «How can I make it obvious?» Be aware of what we are doing at the moment. See an opportunity to replace an old habit with a new one. As Jung said, until we make the unconscious conscious, it will control our lives, but we will call it fate. Therefore, we show ourselves our habits and call a spade a spade.
Want a new habit? We need a clear plan. Determine the time and place: “I will [ACT] at [TIME] at [PLACE]. «When I close my laptop, I’ll do five push-ups next to my desk.»
The stronger the anticipation, the stronger the surge of dopamine, which increases the motivation to act.
2. «How can I make it attractive?» For each “need” add “want”. “After I get back from my lunch break, I will call three potential clients (required).” “After I call three potential clients, I will watch a new video on YouTube (I want to).” The expectation of a reward, not its receipt, spurs action. The stronger the anticipation, the stronger the surge of dopamine, which increases the motivation to act.
3. «How can I make it simple?» Here, Clear asks another question: why do an action if it does not lead to results? Trying to increase motivation to maintain an ineffective habit is like trying to get water to flow through a bent hose. This takes a lot of time and effort. Or you can just straighten the hose. Prepare the surrounding area so that future actions will be easier. For example, remove the boxes next to the table so that there is a place to do push-ups. A habit may take a few seconds, but affect behavior for hours to come.
4. «How can I make it satisfying?» The brain prefers immediate rewards to delayed ones. For example, the pleasant smell of soap when you don’t feel like going to the bathroom at all. To follow a habit regularly, you need to immediately feel successful — even if only to a small extent. This is a signal that the habit brings results, and the work is worth the effort.
However, efforts are not always immediately noticeable. Make an effort to notice them. For example, you went to the gym. How to praise yourself? Treat yourself to a massage. After each workout, transfer a certain amount to a special account, and then after a while you will literally see the result of your efforts. And this is very inspiring.
Source: J. Clear, Atomic Habits. How to acquire good habits and get rid of bad ones ”(Peter, 2020).