Atomic Habits Deep Dive 1pct Rule

ENhave decided to change my life completely.

ENOh really?

ENStarting tomorrow I will wake up at 4 a.m. Okay.

ENThen I will read three books.

ENThree books in one morning?

ENYes and then I will run a marathon before breakfast. Martin please Why?

ENBecause by Wednesday you will be exhausted.

ENI suppose you're right.

ENAnd by Friday you will have quit everything.

ENThis is the problem with ambition isn't it?

ENIt is.

ENWe think we need to make giant changes

ENto get giant results.

ENBut Today we are going to look at the opposite approach.

ENWe are exploring the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

ENThis book argues that real change comes from tiny invisible improvements.

ENIt is the science of the 1%.

ENWelcome to your English toolbox, your slow English podcast where we train your ears step I am Julia and I am Martin.

ENToday we are decoding the secret of long-term success.

ENMartin what are we going to

ENtalk about today?

ENToday we're starting a new series of episodes where we take a deep dive into the ideas from the book Atomic Habits.

ENAfter our previous episode on this topic we received many requests asking us to go deeper.

ENSo that's exactly what we're going to do.

ENIn today's episode we'll explore the first two chapters of the book Fundamentals and Identity.

ENAnd along the way we're going to break one of the biggest myths about success.

ENThe

ENidea of instant results.

ENWe will learn why winners and losers actually have the exact same goals.

ENWe will discover why cleaning your room solves nothing if you don't change your habits.

ENAnd we will explain why you are not a person who wants to speak English but a person who is a speaker.

ENIf you listen until the end you will understand the math of success.

ENYou will learn how to build a routine that runs on autopilot.

ENAnd

ENyou will finally understand why you feel stuck just before a big breakthrough.

ENPart 3.

ENThe math of the 1%.

ENLet's start with the math of success.

ENDon't worry it is simple math.

ENImagine you improve by just 1% every single day.

EN1% seems invisible.

ENIt is tiny.

ENYou wouldn't even notice it in the moment.

ENBut if you do that for 365 days the result is shocking.

ENYou don't end up two times better.

ENYou end up 37 times

ENbetter.

EN37 times.

ENThat is the power of compound interest.

ENJust like money multiplies habits multiply.

ENBut we have to be careful because there is also the math of decline.

ENIf you get 1% worse every day you degrade nearly to 0.

ENTime is a If you have bad habits time becomes your enemy.

ENBut Martin does this apply to everything?

ENAbsolutely.

ENTake productivity.

ENIf you automate one small task you free up mental space for the next one.

ENThat

ENis positive compounding or knowledge.

ENLearning one new idea doesn't make you a genius.

ENBut a lifetime of learning transforms your worldview.

ENHowever stress compounds too.

ENTraffic jams plus parenting plus work worry equals health issues.

ENAnd negative thoughts compound the fastest.

ENThe more you think of yourself as worthless the more you interpret life that way.

ENSo we need to be on the right side of the math.

ENPart four.

ENThe aggregation of marginal gains.

ENMartin this theory sounds

ENnice but does it work in the real world?

ENLet me tell you the story of British cycling.

ENFor 100 years they were mediocre.

ENThey had Then they hired a man named Dave Brailsford.

ENHe did not try to make one giant change.

ENHe used a strategy called the aggregation of marginal gains.

ENHe looked for 1% improvements everywhere.

ENThey redesigned the bike seats to be more comfortable.

ENThey rubbed alcohol on the tires for better grip.

ENThey bought electrically

ENheated shorts to keep muscles warm.

ENThey even painted the floor of the truck white to spot dust that could degrade the bikes.

ENWait they painted the floor?

ENYes.

ENAnd they tested different pillows to see which one gave the best sleep.

ENThese sound like tiny silly details.

ENBut when you add them all up the result was explosive.

ENIn the 2008 Olympics they won 60% of the gold medals.

ENThey went from zero to heroes just by aggregating small

ENgains.

ENPart five.

ENThe valley of disappointment.

ENSo if small steps work why do we give up so easily?

ENBecause of the plateau of latent potential.

ENThat sounds complicated.

ENIt just means we expect progress to be a straight line.

ENWe work hard for a week and we don't see a change.

ENWe expect results instantly.

ENBut reality is curved.

ENResults show up late.

ENJames Clear calls this gap the valley of disappointment.

ENIt is that painful period where you

ENare working hard but seeing nothing.

ENHe uses the ice cube analogy.

ENImagine an ice cube sitting in a cold room at 25 degrees.

ENYou heat the room to 26.

ENNothing happens.

EN27, 28, 29.

ENThe ice is still solid.

ENDid you waste your time?

ENNo. You were storing energy.

ENAt 31 degrees nothing happens.

ENBut at 32 degrees the ice begins to melt.

ENThe work done heating it from 25 to 31 was not wasted.

ENIt was just invisible.

ENThis is the bamboo tree metaphor.

ENBamboo spends five years building roots underground.

ENYou see nothing.

ENAnd then in six weeks it shoots up 90 feet.

ENSo if you are in the valley of disappointment today do not quit.

ENYou are just building your roots.

ENPart six.

ENForget goals.

ENFocus on systems. Now we need to talk about goals.

ENEverybody tells us to set big goals.

ENBut James Clear says forget about goals.

ENFocus on systems instead.

ENWhat is the

ENdifference?

ENA goal is the result you want.

ENLike winning a game.

ENA system is the process you follow.

ENLike your practice schedule.

ENThink about it.

ENWinners and losers have the exact same goals.

ENEvery athlete at the Olympics wants the gold medal.

ENSo the goal cannot be the thing that makes the This is survivorship bias.

ENWe only look at the winners and say they had a goal.

ENBut the losers had the same goal.

ENThe difference was their

ENsystem.

ENAlso goals have a clean room problem.

ENIf your room is messy and you clean it you have a clean room for now.

ENBut if you don't change your sloppy habits the room gets messy again.

ENYou treated the symptom not the cause.

ENGoals also create a yo-yo effect.

ENOnce you run the marathon you stop training.

ENThe motivation is gone because the goal is finished.

ENAnd finally goals restrict your happiness.

ENYou tell yourself I will only be

ENhappy if I reach the It is binary success.

ENBut systems allow you to be satisfied any time the system is running.

ENThere is a quote I love.

ENYou do not rise to the level of your goals.

ENYou fall to the level of your systems.

ENPart seven.

ENThe onion of We have to look at the onion of change.

ENImagine an onion with three layers.

ENThe outer layer is outcomes.

ENWhat you get.

ENThe middle layer is processes.

ENWhat

ENyou do.

ENThe center core is identity.

ENWho you are.

ENMost people try to change from the outside in.

ENThey focus on the outcome.

ENI want to be thin.

ENBut the strongest habits start from the center.

ENIdentity based habits.

ENImagine two people resisting a cigarette.

ENPerson A says no thanks I'm trying to quit.

ENThey still believe they are a smoker who is trying to stop.

ENPerson B says no thanks I'm not a smoker.

ENThat is a shift

ENin identity.

ENBehavior is evidence.

ENIf you believe I am bad at math you will not study math.

ENThat is a negative identity.

ENIt creates cognitive dissonance to act against your beliefs.

ENIt is mentally painful to do something that contradicts who you think you are.

ENTrue behavior change is identity change.

ENYou might start a habit because of motivation.

ENBut you stick with it because of identity.

ENYou become a runner whenever you put on shoes.

ENYou become a

ENwriter whenever you write.

ENThe goal is not to write a book but to become a writer.

ENPride is the fuel here.

ENThe more pride you have in an identity the harder you fight to keep it.

ENBut first you might need to do some unlearning.

ENYou have to unlearn the old identities that don't serve you.

ENPart 8 the voting machine.

ENSo how do we change our identity?

ENIt is a two-step process.

ENFirst decide who you want to

ENbe.

ENSecond prove it to yourself with small wins.

ENThink of your life as a voting machine.

ENEvery action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become.

ENEvery time you practice English you cast a vote for I am a linguist.

ENEvery time you choose a you cast a vote for I am healthy.

ENYou don't need a unanimous vote to win the election.

ENYou just need the majority.

ENYou don't need to be

ENperfect.

ENYou just need to be consistent.

ENAs the votes mount up the evidence changes.

ENAnd you start to trust yourself.

ENThere is a feedback loop.

ENYour habits shape your identity and your identity shapes your habits.

ENCan we fake it?

ENYes.

ENFake it till you make it.

ENAsk yourself the question what would a healthy person do?

ENWhat would a fluent English speaker do?

ENAnd then just do that small thing.

ENOne small workout doesn't make you an athlete.

ENBut it provides evidence that you could be one.

ENPart 9 conclusion.

ENSo Martin we covered a lot today.

ENLet's recap the main philosophy.

ENStop trying to make giant leaps.

ENTrust the math of the 1%.

ENDon't worry if you are in the valley of disappointment.

ENYour roots are growing like the bamboo.

ENForget the goal of finishing English.

ENBuild a system of daily contact.

ENAnd finally change your identity.

ENDon't say I want to learn.

ENSay I am a

ENlearner.

ENCast your votes every day.

ENIf you show the platforms that our community is real, active, and growing.

ENThis support is crucial for us to continue creating new episodes every week.

ENTell us what vote are you casting today?

ENAre you voting for the runner, the writer, or the English speaker?

ENWe need your comments because your voice is more important than ours.

ENYour voice and comments will show us the right path.

ENThank you for listening.