Tag: James Clear

Happiness

Peace occurs when you don’t turn your observations into problems.

Chris Labs

The first step in any behavior is observation. You notice a cue, a bit of information, an event. If you do not desire to act on what you observe, then you are at peace. Craving is about wanting to fix everything. Observation without craving is the realization that you do not need to fix anything. Your mind does not generate a problem for you to solve. You’re simply observing and existing. -Atomic Habits, p.260 Continue reading Peace occurs when you don’t turn your observations into problems.

Happiness

Happiness is simply the absence of desire

Chris Labs

When you observe a cue, but do not desire to change your state, you are content with the current situation. Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure (which is joy or satisfaction), but about the lack of desire. It arrives when you have no urge to feel differently. Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state. -Atomic Habits, p.259 Continue reading Happiness is simply the absence of desire

Happiness

Try to keep your identity small.

Chris Labs

Military veterans and former entrepreneurs reports similar feelings. If your identity is wrapped up in a belief like “I’m a great soldier,” what happens when your period of service ends? For many business owners, their identity is something along the lines of “I’m the CEO” or “I’m the founder.” If you have spent every waking moment working on your business, how will you feel after you sell the company? The key to mitigating these losses of identity is to redefine yourself such that you get to keep important aspects of your identity even if your particular role changes. “I’m an … Continue reading Try to keep your identity small.

Habits

When should you review, reflect back on your behavior?

Chris Labs

Periodic reflection and review is like viewing yourself in the mirror from a conversational distance. Worrying too much about every daily choice is like looking at yourself in the mirror from an inch away. You can see every imperfection and lose sight of the bigger picture. There is too much feedback. Conversely, never reviewing your habits is like never looking in the mirror. You aren’t aware of easily fixable flaws – a spot on your shirt, a bit of food in your teeth. There is too little feedback. -Atomic Habits, p.247 Continue reading When should you review, reflect back on your behavior?

Habits

You know that flow state, when you feel like you’re “in the zone”

Chris Labs

When you are fully immersed in an activity. Scientist have tried to quantify this feeling. They found that to achieve a state of flow, a task must be roughly 4 percent beyond your current ability. In real life it’s typically not feasible to quantify the difficulty of an action in this way, but the core idea of the Goldilocks Rule remains: working on challenges of just manageable difficulty – something on the perimeter of your ability – seems crucial for maintaining motivation. -Atomic Habits, p.233 Continue reading You know that flow state, when you feel like you’re “in the zone”

Habits, Happiness, Learnings

Until you work as hard as those you admire, don’t explain away their success as luck.

Chris Labs

Genes can’t make you successful if you’re not doing the work. Yes, it’s possible that the ripped trainer at the gym has better genes, but if you haven’t put in the same reps, it’s impossible to say if you have been dealt a better or worse genetic hand. -Atomic Habits, p.227 Continue reading Until you work as hard as those you admire, don’t explain away their success as luck.