Habits- Day 8

“A one degree shift can cause water to boil or ice to melt.”

James Clear

Clear states that often people give up too soon before they actually see any real results. 

Persistence is the key in habit formation. Giving yourself enough time to see a difference is critical. 

“Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it.”

James Clear 

There used to be a school of thought that twenty-one days was the magic number when it came to creating a new habit. If you could white knuckle through the twenty-one days then you would have it mastered. 

Further research has shown that this is not necessarily true. 

Yesterday we talked about compounding. Just like interest in a bank account this does not happen overnight, and the results you seek may be delayed. 

This is why it’s so hard for habits to form. We lose sight of the long-term, and want immediate gratification.

Clear points out that starting with tiny atomic size changes practiced over a long  period of time results in more habits developed and maintained. 

“What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while.”

Gretchen Rubin