Have Built Better Habits, I would want to offer 30 “one-sentence anecdotes” regarding the process of developing healthier routines that Have Built Better Habits. (Each one of these does not consist of precisely one phrase, but it is quite brief.)
None of these are my own experiences. The readers of Atomic Habits were kind enough to send these to me. I expect that these case studies will demonstrate how the book is being used by actual people in the real world. They will show you what people are doing to create healthy habits and break negative ones, and they will also show you how you may do the same. And it is my sincere hope that doing so would provide you with some inspiration for doing the same thing Have Built Better Habits.
I have divided the stories into categories that roughly correspond to different sections or ideas in the book.
Identity-based Habits
Building “identity-based habits” is one of the core concepts presented in the book Have Built Better Habits. This notion advocates concentrating on the sort of person you intend to become rather than the goal you wish to attain. This concept is one of the fundamental ideas presented in the book.
One reader named Roland used the idea to improve his eating habits Have Built Better Habits.
“Through the process of identity transformation, I was able to quit consuming bad food,” he wrote. “In the past, I attempted it quite a few times, but it wasn’t until after I made the choice that I want to be someone who eats healthily that it became simple and natural for me to eat healthily. I tried shifting my mentality from one of “I want to quit eating terrible food” to “I am someone who eats well and lives a healthy life.” This helped me focus on the positive aspects of my lifestyle. It alters how you approach things.
One more reader by the name of Robert put this strategy to use to finally kick his smoking habit. He stated, “I just quit smoking, and the distinction between I don’t smoke and I can’t smoke is a strong trainer of my brain.” He was referring to the inability to smoke cigarettes. The encouraging takeaway from the fact that I have stopped smoking is that I have not “given up” anything else Have Built Better Habits. I am not giving up a pleasurable activity. I am investing the joy and well-being of my future self.”
The idea of identity-based habits, much like the majority of the other techniques in the book, maybe paired with several different methods of habit formation. One reader, for example, used an external incentive to the value of ten dollars as a means of reinforcing the desired identity. “I told myself, I am no longer a drinker Have Built Better Habits. Then, at the end of each day during which I refrained from drinking, I rewarded myself with ten dollars to spend on something pleasant rather than on poison (like clothes and household items). I am now six years clean, and as of today, I am no longer in need of the allowance.
Chapter 2 of Have Built Better Habits covers these strategies in much greater detail;
1. Changing the Cues
Changing a habit may also be accomplished by recognizing the triggers for the behavior in question and making adjustments to those triggers. This is exactly what a good many of the readers have done.
A lady by the name of Lisa developed a habit of reading by increasing the number of books she was exposed to. She said, “By consistently placing holds on 20-30 books at the library Have Built Better Habits, I’ve been able to read more novels.” “It saves time while looking through different books. There is always something fresh for me to read, and the deadline is every three weeks.”
Heather implemented a method similar to this one to enforce the fundamental routine of drinking more water. “To visually remind me and motivate myself, I employ color and positioning. I put water into a water bottle that was a vibrant shade of aqua, which is one of my favorite colors, and I set it on my nightstand so that it would be in plain sight when I woke up.
Some readers have taken the complete opposite approach. They reduced their exposure to unfavorable stimuli. One individual by the name of Max was successful in kicking his addiction to e-cigarettes. “I stopped e-cigarettes with a mixture of willpower and also by giving up coffee at the same time Have Built Better Habits, which was a trigger for me since I’d smoke and drink coffee together in the morning,” the author says. “I’d drink coffee and smoke together in the morning.”
2. Habit Stacking
Another strategy that has shown to be effective throughout the publication is one that I refer to as “habit stacking.” B.J. Fogg, a professor at Stanford, was the one who introduced me to this tactic for the first time Have Built Better Habits. Because you attach (also known as “anchor”) your new habit onto an existing one, he calls this process “anchoring.”
A reader came up with a straightforward method for learning a new language by using the habit stacking technique.
“When I initially arrived in China and began learning Mandarin, I committed myself to strike up a conversation with the taxi driver anytime I entered a cab (I took a lot of cab trips, at least five per day). I performed it nonstop for two years, regardless of the time of day or how exhausted I was feeling. I am now able to speak Chinese at a native level.
In a similar vein, a reader by the name of David shared with me that he meditates for twenty minutes each morning after he has brushed his teeth. It appears that building new habits on top of an existing keystone behavior is more effective than Have Built Better Habits.
In Chapter 5 of Atomic Habits, you’ll discover instances of stacking habits that cover a wide range of scenarios.
