As much as I wish there is a simple change I could make in my life that could make a remarkable difference in my life. In reality, it is a matter of millions of minuscule moments that are in control of my ultimate destiny. I have always seen life in a way of numbers rather than an art. I find some solace in the simplicity in numbers. In my latest PGP conquest, I read the book Atomic Habits. The book was an exploration of the importance of habits that make up our daily lives. The author, James Clear uses infographics and data to back up his conclusions in a way that I found particularly compelling. The book is called Atomic Habits and through this post, I would like to share with you my revelations and epiphanies that came to when reading it.

---

Before I take you through my journey, I want to outline how intertwined different aspects of my life are. In class, my teacher Ms. Willemse brought up an article entitled Jungle Tiger. Meanwhile, my golf coach brought up the exact same article and asked me to read it. Skills I learned in school are not relegated to the confines of these walls because of their relevance in all facets of my life including my competitive endeavors.

---

The book was split into 4 main sections with outlining the 4 key components to habit development

1. Make it Obvious
2. Make it Attractive
3. Make it Easy
4. Make it Satisfying

Each section was then broken down into specific lifelike examples to provide context for each instruction.  Below I will take you through the 4 sections through the lens of one of the habits I am building. The habit I am building revolves around spending 10 minutes a day improving my mental toughness.

Make it Obvious

Like the other 3 sections, the “make it obvious” section seemed quite self-explanatory. In reality, key details have to be understood in order for me to move past the first stage.

In the book, I was challenged me to write down my daily routine and label each one of the habits as positive, neutral, or negative. This challenge was created so that I could be more aware of my current daily routine. This helped me determine the areas I am missing in my routine. From there I used an implementation intention for my habit.

I will challenge my mental toughness every weekday

I used habit stacking to make the behavior even more defined and obvious

After I study math, I will spend 10 minutes working on mind

Make it Attractive

There is a reason why habits don’t just happen when you make them obvious. It takes effort and sacrifices to develop them. In this section, the book provided hope that the habits are more attractive and less of an uphill battle. When reading if found the motivational rituals resonated the most with me. I could tie in one of my most treasured activities, listening to music, in order to make meditation or whatever I choose to do work on mind be much more inviting. Listening to music will not only tie the enjoyment of music to the habit but it will also provide the added benefit of helping me get in a better mindset to get more of my mental training. By associating the 2 actions I will make the habit much more exciting to the point where I am going to look forward to the habit and not just the ritual.

Make it Easy

Like the above section, the make it easy section is all about making the habit creation less of an unstoppable grind and more of an attainable goal. In the “make it easy” chapter it instructed me to pave a clearer path for myself. The clearer path involved many strategies that are all designed around making the act of the habit much easier to do. The two-minute rule outlined how you should simplify your habits into something you could accomplish in two minutes or less. In my case, I simplified my habit so all I have to do is turn off my phone and the light in my room. Clear makes the argument that once you have started it is much easier to keep going and I couldn’t agree more with that.

For the first time in the book, I found some of the concepts went over my head in this section. When Clear speaks of mastering the decisive moments, I felt lost when I tried to relate this to my own life. The amount of choices that make up a day is almost infinite. I subscribe to the fact these decisions shouldn’t be dwelled on because if I were to I would regret far too many choices and I would be unproductive. I understand what the book means that some decisions are more valuable, but I believe you do not realize the importance of each decision until after the day is complete. I will continue to look to uncover the decisive moments in my day in an effort to get a better handle on whether I am making good decisions in those key moments

Make it Satisfying

In the conclusion of the book, I was left with a sense of optimism. The 4th section is all about making your habits satisfying and I found his comment about habit streaks to be the most meaningful to me. Sports and competition have always been a part of my life and keeping score is something that I enjoy. Keeping score will allow me to tap into parts of my brain that I am most motivated by. The visual of trying to avoid “breaking the chain” is something I feel I can feed on when developing my habits.

When I inevitably make a mistake and break the chain I will face the most adversity. I am not someone who quit when the going gets tough but I have struggled to know how to avoid these failures. My endovenous are littered with adversity, but I believe that the challenges I have faced have only made me stronger and better equipped to face the challenges of today. I will take my learning and bring it to my atomic habits in an effort to make the little changes that will make my life better.

---

Accountability is a word that stuck with me through the book and I think it will be key to guiding me to the promised land. Accountability partners will be an important part of my habit development, but ultimately my personal accountability will determine my success. If I stick with my habits with determination I know I will be successful, but like all challenges, it is much harder than it sounds.