Our first mistake is that we try to change the wrong thing. To understand what I mean, consider that there are three levels at which change can occur.THREE LAYERS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE <ol><li>The first layer is changing your outcomes.</li><li>The second layer is changing your process.</li><li>The third and deepest layer is changing your identity.</li></ol>

THREE LAYERS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

<ul><li>Your identity emerges out of your habits. Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. </li><li>Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.</li><li> The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.</li></ul>

Conclusion

This level is concerned with changing your beliefs: your worldview, your self-image, your judgement about yourself and others. Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.

3. Changing Your Identity 

For example, “Who is the type of person who could write a book?” It’s probably someone who is consistent and reliable. Now your focus shifts from writing a book (outcome-based) to being the type of person who is consistent and reliable (identity-based).Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits. It’s a two-way street.The focus should always be on becoming that type of person, not getting a particular outcome.

New identities require new evidence. If you keep casting the same votes you’ve always cast, you’re going to get the same results you’ve always had. If nothing changes, nothing is going to change. It is a simple two-step process: <ol><li>Decide the type of person you want to be.</li><li>Prove it to yourself with small wins.</li></ol>

This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change.Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it actually is big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do.

The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it. If you’re proud of how your hair looks, you’ll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it.Improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are. The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader.

It is concerned with changing your results: losing weight, publishing a book etc .

1. Changing Your Outcomes 

WHY IS IT so easy to repeat bad habits and so hard to form good ones?It often feels difficult to keep good habits going for more than a few days, even with sincere effort and the occasional burst of motivation.Habits like exercise, meditation, journaling, and cooking are reasonable for a day or two and then become a hassle.Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: <ol><li>we try to change the wrong thing</li><li>we try to change our habits in the wrong way.</li></ol>

Chapter 2 
How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa)

You may want better health, but if you continue to prioritize comfort over accomplishment, you’ll be drawn to relaxing rather than training.You have a new goal and a new plan, but you haven’t changed who you are.The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.

It is concerned with changing your habits and systems: implementing a new routine at the gym, decluttering your desk for better workflow etc .

2. Changing Your Progress

Imagining two people resisting cigarette. When offered a smoke, the first person says, “No thanks. I’m trying to quit.” The second person declines by saying, “No thanks. I’m not a smoker.” It’s a small difference, but this statement signals a shift in identity. Smoking was part of their former life, not their current one. They no longer identify as someone who smokes.We never shift the way they look at ourselves, and we don’t realize that our old identity can sabotage our new plans for change.

Outcome-Based Habits & Identity-Based Habits 

When your behavior and your identity are fully aligned, you are no longer pursuing behavior change. You are simply acting like the type of person you already believe yourself to be.Identity change can be a powerful force for self-improvement.The biggest barrier to positive change at any level—individual, team, society—is identity conflict. Good habits can make rational sense, but if they conflict with your identity, you will fail to put them into action.

Your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity.

Your identity emerges out of your habits. You are not born with preset beliefs. Every belief, including those about yourself, is learned and conditioned through experience.More precisely, your habits are how you embody your identity. When you make your bed each day, you embody the identity of an organized person.The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior.Your identity is literally your “repeated beingness.” This is a gradual evolution.

THE TWO-STEP PROCESS TO CHANGING YOUR IDENTITY

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 2 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.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

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

Similar ideasundefined

How to change your beliefs

A variation of the optimization trap

Find Your Why Power