#470: A Proven System for Building and Breaking Habits

Published: Jan. 2, 2019, 6:35 p.m.

It\u2019s a new year and if you\u2019re like millions of people around the world, you\u2019re likely making goals to create some new habits or to break some bad ones. But if you\u2019re also like millions of people around the world, your attempts at making and breaking habits will usually fail after just a few weeks of flailing effort, and you'll probably think your lack of willpower is to blame.\n\nMy guest today argues that it isn\u2019t truly a lack of willpower that\u2019s holding you back from your habit goals, it\u2019s the tactics you use for reaching them.\n\nHis name is James Clear, he\u2019s the author of the book Atomic Habits, and today on the show, he walks us through how to make habit formation and habit breaking much easier by crafting optimal systems for behavior change. We begin our show discussing the misconceptions people have about habits and the 4-step process of habit formation that tracks the 4 laws of behavior change. James then suggests specific ways to make good habits more attractive and easier to obtain while making bad habits less attractive and easier to shake. We end our conversation discussing why you should take into account your unique personality when you craft your habits.\n\nGet the show notes at aom.is/atomichabits.