I recently introduced myself to James Clear’s work on habits and failure. A quick email entry and now I get these messages about getting right and habits of mind. One of the things I’ve struggled with since I stopped being a kid back in the 90’s is consistency. I have this vicious cycle of working really hard, getting burned out, and then lamenting the fact that I can’t work, and then floundering until I can get back into gear. This has been going on for close to 35 years. It is the core source of my failures in life from academics, to relationships, to sports, and on. As I get older the one thing that changes is my access to support. I finally have the Lady Talis in my life, and that is a game changer. It gives me a mooring that did not exist prior to our meeting. Sad that it took me so long to find the main thing I needed to get off the cycle.
Yet, I am still on the cycle. Clear talks about a lot of reasons why that could be happening. Foremost among those is this idea of habit and how environment shapes habit. It is a simple matter of reinforcement. What habits am I reinforcing by how and where I place things in my spaces? To borrow his example, if I want to do five burpees in the morning before I brush my teeth, I should have a post it note to remind me of that right on the bathroom mirror.
While I am not one to slap post-it’s on a mirror, the core idea of what he is saying does make sense. I need to condition my space to reinforce the habits I want, and to dissuade the habits I don’t want. So, if I want to work in my office in spite of the oppressive heat, I need a good fan. If I want to avoid youtube, I need to put my headphones away so that going to the ‘tube means getting up and actively making the choice to retrieve the headphones. There are several other space-based changes that could be effective, such as what books remain at eye level, so when I turn my head seeking inspiration, there they are.
This is a start. I need more to get right. I’m not mad at the baby steps.
Some Thoughts:
- Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Poland is now among the world’s 20 largest economies. How it happened” Who knew?! Seriously, I grew up pre-2k and the thought of Poland being a top 20 in the world economy is bonkers. A lot of people thought they’d be absorbed by other eastern block countries. Didn’t go that way at all. So, Poland, eh? What’s retirement like out there?