The One Book I’m Using To Build a New and Improved Me

I just bought my eighteen-year-old son a three thousand dollar computer with money made from my meager teacher’s salary. And no, he didn’t chip in with money from his side job. Because he doesn’t have one. I won’t let him work. And it has nothing to do with college success or good grades. It has to do with one percent.

His dream is to be a professional gamer. To be in a profession in which only the top one percent are successful.

And this is why I purchased the king of computers. So that he could be more competitive against the most elite gamers in the industry.

He’s been on the same team for two years, and they play 8 hours a day, mostly from nine p.m. to about four the next morning. This is one of the reasons he attends college completely virtually, so he can do his academics on his own schedule.

And I more than fully support his dreams. I understand that to be in the top one percent you have to do one percent more. At least according to James Clear, author of the best selling book Atomic Habits.

I just started reading his book two days ago, so his theory was not one I was aware of when I made the decisions I mentioned concerning my son. But as I read, his ideas all began to make sense. They helped me understand the reason I made what most parents would say are completely irrational choices for my child.

My decision to buy the computer, my choice not to make him work, my choice to let him sleep in until two in the afternoon gives him an edge that could make all the difference between success or failure. And these small choices are inches that, according to Clear, will add up and increase his chance of being in the one percent of which he dreams.

Clear’s book presents an example of the effectiveness of his methodology by citing the lowly status of the British cycling team and how they rose to success with a new director named Dave Brailsford. The new manager researched and implemented a series of tiny changes that, when added together over time, catapulted the team to fame and success.

Some of his changes? Seemingly miniscule adjustments such as purchasing the best pillows and mattresses that would enable the cyclists to get more restful sleep and finding the best massage gels to aid in relieving sore or tight muscles.

Five years after these and many other minor modifications were made, numerous Olympic medals were issued to the members of his team and many world records were broken by those under his guidance.

Clear’s philosophy on the power of small choices

At the heart of Clear’s book Atomic Habits is the idea that doing things each day that make you one percent better will lead to huge gains towards reaching your goal. His exact words?

If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.

Take a moment to let that sink in. It doesn’t seem life-changing to do one small thing each day that will make you better. It seems too easy to do something as simple as cut out the soda at lunch or come into work ten minutes earlier and expect large gains in what you most want to accomplish. But it works.

Why?

According to Clear, small changes are sustainable. They’re almost effortless to do, and that’s what makes them stick around for the long run. He reasons that the huge changes we make at one time do create immediate gains, but they require much more effort to keep doing, which means we eventually lose steam and drop the changes that have produced such quick results.

The only downside to Clear’s tactic is that his strategy requires patience and a long-lasting belief that the goals you are working towards will eventually become realities.

But ask any successful person and they will support Clear’s reasoning that patience is one of the essential requirements to greatness.

For example, Success magazine mentions the victories of former UCLA basketball head coach John Wooden, whose legendary wins with his teams are cited by some as unequaled. Wooden’s words to fellow coaches hoping to attain success are important for anyone aiming to reach their true potential. He states:

Progress comes slowly in many respects. The formation of new habits and the breaking of old are no quick-change proposition.

Implementing Clear’s “atomic habits” to produce growth in your own life

Step one: Determine your ultimate goal and brainstorm

To begin to see results using Clear’s advice, you must first list all of the things required to reach success in your chosen area of focus. Remember the example of the British cycling team? No detail is irrelevant.

As a matter of fact, many of the supposedly small items you may want to include on your list are relevant to all people hoping to accomplish their goals: good nutrition, proper rest, increased knowledge, sustained motivation, and an atmosphere favorable for success. Beyond these universal catalysts to greater improvement, you also need to list steps specific to your individual goal.

Step two: Identify one or two areas which you will target to be one percent better

I’m pretty sure your list of small elements necessary for success is a bit lengthy. Remember, Clear’s recommendation is to keep it simple. Chose a very few things on your list and determine how you will be “one percent better.” Here are some examples of things you may choose to do based on your exact goals:

Weight loss: Choose one high calorie food or beverage and eliminate it for your daily consumption
Business: Send a “check-in” email daily to different valued customers
Fitness: Pick three small exercises you can perform each morning that take less than fifteen minutes total
Parenting: Spend the first ten minutes after work talking with your child about his or her day
Beauty: Drink more water and apply sunscreen and moisturizer

Step three: Repeat these steps until they become habits, and then add in more “one percent’s”

Once these changes are regular parts of your day, tweak your routine again by implementing more of the small things on your list. Clear calls this building “systems” and “habit stacking.” He sees “systems” as being more effective than goals, because once we reach a goal, we feel a sense of completion and are tempted to stop, whereas with systems we slowly build a new identity that lasts over time. He states:

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.

The bottom line:

The “one percent rule” is only one of Clear’s focal points. Later in the book he talks about things such as how your identity can affect your self-improvement and the cycle that perpetuates both bad habits and good habits and how you can use this cycle to your own advantage.

I am only a quarter of the way into the book and cannot wait to understand and employ more of Clear’s strategies. And I believe Clear’s book will help anyone who reads it because it explains the why’s of our behavior and then the how’s of changing those actions we most wish to be rid of.

What I’ve learned so far in my reading is summarized in a metaphor Clear uses to explain his ideology. He makes the following comparison:

All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow.

So right now, I’m sowing my seeds, knowing the end result will be a new me, one which I will be much more proud of. I know you want the same, right? Then grab read his book, use his tactics, and plant your own forest.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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