"A SYSTEM OF ATOMIC HABITS" is a book that explains how to build good habits and break bad ones. Here's an explanation of some difficult words and phrases from the provided text excerpts:

From "A SYSTEM OF ATOMIC HABITS"

• Atomic Habits: This phrase has a double meaning. First, it refers to a tiny, small habit, like the word "atom" which means a small, fundamental particle. Second, it suggests that these small habits are the building blocks of remarkable results, just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules and everything else in the universe. They are "small and mighty."

• Compound Interest: In finance, it's the interest you earn on both the original amount of money and the accumulated interest from previous periods. In the context of the book, it's a metaphor for how small improvements build on each other over time, leading to massive, long-term growth. Getting "1 percent better every day" doesn't seem like much, but over a year, it compounds to a significant improvement.

• Double-edged sword: This is an idiom for something that has both positive and negative consequences. In this case, habits can either work for you (building positive results) or against you (reinforcing bad behaviors).

• Critical Threshold: This refers to a tipping point or a specific level that, once crossed, leads to a significant and noticeable change. The book suggests that small changes might not seem to make a difference until you reach this point, and then the results become obvious.

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From "How Your Habits Shape Your Identity"

• Identity-based habits: This is an approach to change that focuses on who you want to become rather than just what you want to achieve. Instead of setting a goal like "I want to run a marathon," you focus on building the identity of a "runner." The idea is that your actions will naturally follow your beliefs about yourself.

• Outcome-based habits: This approach focuses on what you want to achieve (the outcome). For example, "I want to lose 10 pounds." The problem is that without an identity shift, it's easy to fall back into old behaviors once the goal is reached or when things get tough.

• Incongruent with the self: This means that a behavior or action doesn't align with your self-image or core beliefs. The text states that "behavior that is incongruent with the self will not last," meaning you won't stick with a new habit if it clashes with the kind of person you believe you are.

• Cognitive slumber: This is a metaphor for a state of being mentally asleep or unaware. It describes people who live their lives without questioning the deeply ingrained beliefs and norms that guide their actions. They are "blindly following" their identity without conscious thought.

 

1. Survivorship Bias

Survivorship bias is a logical error where you focus on the people or things that "survived" a process and ignore those that didn't. In the text, it refers to only looking at the successful people (the winners) and assuming their goals were the reason for their success, while ignoring all the unsuccessful people who had the same goals. For example, we hear about the successful authors who wrote a book and became rich, but we don't hear about the thousands of others who wrote books that never sold.

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2. Yo-Yo Effect

The yo-yo effect is a term most often used in the context of dieting, where a person loses weight and then gains it back. In the provided text, it's used as a metaphor for what happens when you achieve a goal and then stop the behaviors that led to that success. For example, a runner trains for months to complete a marathon (the goal), and once the race is over, they stop training and revert to their old, less active habits.

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3. Goals vs. Systems

The core distinction made in the text is between goals and systems.

• Goals are the desired outcomes or results you want to achieve (e.g., win a gold medal, clean a room, finish a marathon).

• Systems are the processes and habits that lead to those results (e.g., the training regimen of an Olympian, the daily habit of putting things away, the consistent running schedule of a marathoner).

The text argues that focusing on the system—the continuous process of small improvements—is more effective for long-term progress than just focusing on the goal.

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4. Continuous Small Improvements

Continuous small improvements refers to the idea of making tiny, incremental changes over time that collectively lead to significant progress. The text uses the example of the British cycling team, which didn't just have a goal to win the Tour de France but instead focused on a "system" of continuous improvements. This could include things like perfecting their training routines, optimizing their nutrition, or even finding a more comfortable bike seat. Each small change on its own might seem insignificant, but together they add up to a major advantage.

 Today, let's talk about the true engine of progress and how we can achieve lasting change. We often get caught up in the idea of big, dramatic transformations, but in reality, all big things come from small beginnings. The smallest decision you make today can become the seed of a powerful habit.

The Power of Small Habits 🪴

Think about it. A single decision to go for a five-minute walk, to read one page of a book, or to write a single sentence is a tiny action. But when you repeat that decision, a habit sprouts and begins to grow stronger. It's like a plant—its roots entrench themselves, and its branches grow.

Conversely, breaking a bad habit is like trying to uproot a powerful oak tree that has become a part of who we are. Building a good one, on the other hand, is like cultivating a delicate flower, one careful day at a time. The real challenge is sticking with it long enough to see results.

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Surviving the Plateau of Latent Potential ⛰️

We often expect progress to be linear—that our hard work will be immediately rewarded. But in reality, there's often a "valley of disappointment" or what's known as the Plateau of Latent Potential. This is the period where you're putting in consistent effort, day after day, week after week, with no visible signs of improvement. This can be incredibly discouraging.

However, the work isn't wasted. It's simply being stored. The breakthroughs, the amazing results, and the true value of your efforts are revealed much later, after you've reached a critical threshold. What gets us through this difficult period? The answer lies not in our goals, but in our systems.

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Goals vs. Systems: A New Perspective 🎯

Traditional wisdom tells us that the best way to achieve what we want is to set clear, specific, and actionable goals. For years, I did this myself. I set goals for my grades, my weightlifting, and my business. While I had some successes, I had far more failures. I eventually realized that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and everything to do with the systems I followed.

So, what's the difference?

• A goal is the result you want to achieve. It's the destination.

• A system is the process that leads to that result. It's the journey.

For a basketball coach, the goal is to win a championship. Their system is how they recruit players, manage their staff, and run practice every single day. For an entrepreneur, the goal is to build a successful business. Their system is the process they use to test product ideas, hire employees, and manage their marketing.

Here's the interesting question: If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still succeed? I believe you would. Think of it like a sports game. The goal is to get the best score, but no one spends the entire game staring at the scoreboard. The only way to win is to get better each day, play by play. As three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh said, “The score takes care of itself.”

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Why Systems Matter More ⚙️

Goals are great for setting a direction, but systems are what get you there. When you get too focused on your goals, a handful of problems can arise. You might feel disappointed if you don't reach your goal, even if you've made significant progress. You might also put off happiness until you achieve the goal, thinking, "I'll be happy when..."

By focusing on your system—the daily process—you can get better each day. The results, the goals, and the victories will follow naturally. So, let's shift our focus from the scoreboard to the process.

Is there a goal you've been working toward? What would a good system for that goal look like?