So you want to quit midnight snacking huh? You've been piling on the pounds and it's really getting to you now.So what do you do?When you notice yourself craving your favorite snacks after 8pm, you drink lots of water to trick yourself into filling fuller.Does this work?Rarely.Instead of attacking the habits, look into what builds up into indulging in that bad habit.Instead of drinking gallons of water at night, maybe you don't eat enough during the day causing you to get hungry a lot faster.By eating better during the day, you are less hungry at night, reducing the chances of snacking.

Change Bad Habits By Attacking The Systems Not The Habits

Despite it being quite obvious it is often ignored.As a student wanting to ace that course you scored badly in the last semester, pulling an all nighter before the exam "could" give you a fair amount of push in your grades, true, it actually can. Though, how well would you comprehend everything in a single night. What if at the beginning of the semester, you split the overall grade of that subject into its individual parts. <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Tests </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Assignments </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Exams</li></ul>By putting 101% into each of the individual parts, even if you don't get that perfect grade, you will certainly be better than before.

Small Improvement Compounded Over Time Leads To Massive Growth

Building a habit of reading a chapter of a book every day might seem like a small feat on any given day. It takes a little bit of effort to read at first but over time, you begin to adjust and it becomes a lot easier and effortless. The more tasks you can handle without thinking, the more tour brain is free to focus on other tasks.

Habits Compounds Over Time 

Your focus shouldn't be on your goals but rather the systems that help you attain those goals (your habits).In sports , the wining and the losing team usually have same goals which is to win, yet one team end up on the losing side.Rather than focusing your energy into a goal, channel that energy into building excellent systems that'll help you attain those goals."You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems"

Focus On Building Good Habits Not Goals

Everyone has experienced this in one way or the other. After hitting the gym for a week with no noticable difference.I don't have Arnolds arms yet ? Yeah, this isn't really working out as I expected, I better quit now. The plateau of disappointment is a period of time when no tangible results are seen despite all your efforts. This is a totally normal thing.Growth, just like almost every other thing build up gradually, it occur at different speeds for different people.You have to acknowledge the effort(if you are putting in the rig﻿ht effort) not the end goal within this time frame.

The Plateau Of Disappointment 

Would you continue striving to be better if you've achieved your goal?When goals are made priority over your systems(habits), when you've achieved your goals, you are very likely to revert into your previous unproductive habits.This is one way that focusing solely on goal setting can actually be detrimental to long term progress.When your systems are given utmost priority, your goals will fall into place naturally.

Goals Can Act Against Long Term Progress

When I make 20 sales calls, I'll be happy . When I get an A in chemistry, I'll finally be happy. It has various forms in which it appears.Once I achieve...I'll finally be happy. This creates a deep-seated conflict, what happens if you don't attain those goals?By loving the systems, it becomes a million times easier and effortless to achieve those goals. Even if you don't acheive your goals(which is less likely to happen if you have the right system), you are still happy because your systems are still working perfectly fine.

Happinesses Should Not Be Tied To Goals

<ul><li>Small improvement compounded over time leads to massive overall growth.</li><li>Habits compound over time.</li><li>The plateau of disappointment</li><li>Focusing of good habits give better results that focusing on goals.</li><li>Happinesses should not be tied to goals</li><li>Goals can act against long term progress</li><li>Change bad habits by attacking the system</li></ul>

7 Lessons Learnt From Chapter 1 Of Atomic Habits 

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: • make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); • overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; • design your environment to make success easier; • get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

habits

Habits

books

Books

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 10 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: <ul><li>make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);</li></ul><ul><li>overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;</li></ul><ul><li>design your environment to make success easier;</li></ul><ul><li>get back on track when you fall off course;</li></ul>...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

James Clear is the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Learn more at jamesclear.com

Goals Can Act Against Long Term Progress

Similar ideas to Goals Can Act Against Long Term Progress

Focus On Building Good Habits Not Goals

What is Self-Improvement?