Sales Man Up
Atomic Habits
“ You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Every business professional I know sets goals. Many times, our managers set those goals for us in the form of yearly quotas. We’ve all made New Year's resolutions - personal, private, relational, health or financial goals. But how do we achieve those goals if we don’t have systems in place with good habits that build on each other day after day? Goals are just words or numbers on a piece of paper if we do not implement a path in which to accomplish them. How do we develop life changing systems ? Here’s where James Clear steps in. If you haven’t read his book , “ Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way To Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” , you are missing out on one of the most insightful, pragmatic and practical books ever written on developing good habits and successful systems.
Here are just a few items that I gleaned from Atomic Habits:
The 1% Rule : The simple concept of minimal but consistent improvement every day, that ultimately lead to big pay offs. It’s not the big wins, but rather the diligent small accomplishments over the long haul that yield unbelievable results. Read about the British Cycling Team: https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains
Habit Stacking : Which habits can we line up together that naturally flow into one another ? For instance, every morning as I make the coffee, I fill up our drinking water container, I check the dog’s water bowl, and prepare our vitamin C. I stack these habits consistently. How can you apply this to your life and business?
How to establish a good habit and stop a bad one: Bad habits provide some type of “benefit” to our life, so instead of trying to cut them out, why not replace them with a healthier habit ? Here’s the full story : https://jamesclear.com/how-to-break-a-bad-habit
Great Quotes from James Clear :
All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision.
Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it.
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.
Good habits can make rational sense, but if they conflict with your identity, you will fail to put them into action.
The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us. The outcome becomes expected. And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.
Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.
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.
Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.
You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.
Whether you are a seasoned business professional or a young entrepreneur, everyone can benefit from reviewing our current habits and systems. I believe we can all become 1% better ! Take action Today ! To your success.
Visit: https://jamesclear.com/articles
