Bible Study Notes | CH. 1 - Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

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Bible Study Notes | CH. 1

Atomic Habits by James Clear

January 13, 2021 • Pastor Arthur Jackson III

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Atomic Habits
The Fundamentals: Why Tiny Changes Make A Big Difference

As many of you are aware, the theme for our church this year is centered on “Perspective”…our ability to see and interpret things differently. I shared with you that the Lord said to me that, “In 2021 our outlook is going to determine our outcomes”. However, I want to suggest that the changing of our circumstances will not only be a result of the changes in our Perspective, but they are going to be the result of the changes we make in our Practices.

 We Are Going to Have to Incorporate Healthy Habits!

I REALLY LIKE THE TITLE OF JAMES CLEAR’S BOOK – “Atomic Habits”

 Atomic – speaks of a small amount of a thing.

 Habits – speaks of a practice that is performed with regularity.

The premise of the book hinges on the fact that the small changes we make on a consistent basis have the power to construct and/or destruct habits. With the same habits, you will end up with the same results…of course with better habits better results.

WHY TINY CHANGES MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES

 The Fate of The British Cycling Team

The professional cycling team in Great Britain suffered through nearly 100 years of cycling mediocrity, not only had not one British cyclist ever won cycling’s most prestigious race—The Tour de France, but the team performed so badly that top bike manufactures in Europe refused to even sell cycling products to the team, in fear that it would hurt sales if other professional teams saw the Brits using their gear.

However, in 2003 things changed when the governing body for professional cycling in Great Britain hired Dave Brailsford as its new performance director. He brought to the team a new philosophy called, “The Aggregation of Marginal Gains” which was the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do.

When Brailsford assumed leader he and his staff assessed every aspect of the Brit’s cycling regimen and then started making small changes:

 They redesigned the bike seats making them more comfortable for longer rides.
 They rubbed alcohol on the tires, which created a better grip on the road.
 Riders wore electronic heated shorts to maintain the ideal body temp during colder climates.
 Riders used biofeedback monitors that charted their weekly progress
 The team tested various fabrics in wind tunnels to assess the best aerodynamic clothes to wear.
 They tested different body gels to gauge which best aided muscle recovery
 They hired a medical Dr. to consult riders on the best way build their immune system to avoid illnesses.
 They had special pillows and mattresses designed which allowed the riders to have a better night’s sleep
 They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally be missed but could degrade the performance of the bike

Some of the changes seemed unconventional and were met with resistance, but five years after Brailsford assumed leadership, the British Cycling team started dominating the world of professional cycling.

 In 2008, during the Olympic Games in Beijing the team won 60% of the gold medals available
 In 2012, during the Olympic games in London the Brits raised the bar and set 9 Olympic records and 7 world records.
 In that same year of 2012, Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France becoming the first Brit to do so.
 In 2013, Chris Froome—another Brit won the Tour de France
 In 2015, 2016 & 2017, Chris Froome won the race 3X in a row.

Remarkably, during a 10-year span from 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, 60 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS and five TOUR DE FRANCE victories. How does this happen? How does a team of previously ordinary athletes transform into world champions within a 5-year span?

 THEY MADE SMALL CHANGES AND IT PAID OFF OVER TIME!

 This is major because often we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action.

 We overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making gradual improvements on a daily basis.

The reason why small changes are so readily dismissed is because the small changes do not seem to matter very much in comparison to the end goal. For instance:

– I saved $25 from my last paycheck, but I looked at my bank account and I am still broke.
– I walked around the park three times last week, but I look in the mirror and see that I am still out of shape.
– I paid off one credit card last week but checked my credit score and see that my score is still too low to qualify for the loan.

Therefore, what I do is start underestimating the value of the incremental changes and start trying to figure out what I can do immediately to make a “drastic improvement”.

• This Is Why in 2020, Americans spent 16.5 Billion Dollars on Cosmetic Surgery. Because…

 It’s easier to buy a butt than it is to do squats.
 It’s easier to get a tummy tuck than it is to do sit-ups
 It’s easier to get a “fat transfer” than it is to get up and walk three miles everyday

HOWEVER, GOOD HABITS ARE THE COMPOUND INTEREST OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT

The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of our habits multiply as we repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day, and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. Sometimes, it is only when we look back two, five, or perhaps even 10 years later, can we see the value of those good habits and the cost of those bad ones.

ESTABLISHING THE 1% GOAL

• If you can get 1% better each day for one year, you will end up thirty-seven times better by the time you are done. Conversely, if you end up getting 1% worse each day for one year, you will decline nearly down to zero.

Effective Daily Habits Can Change the Trajectory of Your Life!

 Example – LeBron James / Eddie Curry

To illustrate how habits can alter the trajectory of your life, I would like to give an example of two NBA players, one you have definitely heard of and one you might not know so well.

Eddie Curry and LeBron James had a similar trajectory.

EDDIE CURRY

– He was a 7’0" superstar basketball player who came straight out of H.S. into the NBA (1- 41 players to do so)
– He was “Mr. Basketball” for the state of Illinois
– He was a McDonald’s All Star Game MVP
– Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2001)
– He was considered one of the best H.S. recruits ever to come out of Illinois (ranked higher than Kevin Garnett, a Hall of Famer)
– He was a First Team Parade All American (2001)
– He was Mr. Basketball USA (2001)
– He was selected 4th overall in the 2001 NBA draft
– Earned over $70 Million dollars in his NBA career
– Net worth estimated $3 million dollars

LEBRON JAMES

– He was a 6’9” superstar basketball player who came straight out of H.S. into the NBA (1-41 players to do so)
– He was 3× Mr. Basketball (2001–2003) for the state of Ohio
– He was McDonald’s All-American Game MVP (2003)
– He was Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003)
– He was considered one of the best H.S. recruits ever to come out of Ohio
– He was 2× First Team Parade All-American (2002, 2003)
– He was 2× Mr. Basketball USA (2002, 2003)
– He was the 1st player taken in the draft in 2003

Their trajectories changed:
LEBRON JAMES:
– 4× NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020)
– 4× NBA Finals MVP (2012, 2013, 2016)
– 4× NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
– 16× NBA All-Star (2005–2020)
– 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, 2008, 2018)
– 12× All-NBA First Team (2006, 2008–2018)
– 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2009–2013)
– NBA Rookie of the Year (2004)
– NBA All-Rookie First Team (2004)
– NBA Scoring Champion (2008)
– 3× AP Athlete of the Year (2013, 2016, 2018)
– He’s played 18 (highly productive years) in the NBA
– His career averages (Pts. 27, Reb. 7.4, Assts. 74.4)
– Career earnings estimated to be $94.2 million
– Estimated net worth $450 million

EDDIE CURRY
– He played a total of 527 (mostly non-productive) games in the NBA
– His career average (Pts. 12.9, Reb. 5.2, Assts. 0.5)
– His career earnings totaled $70 million
– His estimated net worth is $3 million

WHAT WAS THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDDIE AND LEBRON?

THEIR DAILY HABITS!

EDDIE CURRY ATE HIMSELF OUT OF THE LEAGUE!

I shared the contrast between Eddie Curry and LeBron James because what we learn by looking at the trajectory of their carriers is this, it does not matter how successful or unsuccessful you are right now…what matters is whether your habits are putting you on the trajectory of success!

IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW SUCCESSFUL OR UNSUCCESSFUL YOU ARE RIGHT NOW; WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR HABITS ARE PUTTING YOU ON THE PATH TOWARD SUCCESS.

• YOUR OUTCOMES ARE A LAGGING MEASURE OF YOUR HABITS

 Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits
 Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating/exercise habits
 Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits
 Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits

 In Other Words, You Get What You Repeat!

• Take A Some Time and Do A Trajectory Analysis

1. Are you satisfied with the current trajectory of your life?

2. Are your habits placing you on a trajectory for success?

3. What are the consequences of staying on your current trajectory?

4. What small changes could you make to change your trajectory?

If you want to see where you’ll end up in life, all you have to do is follow the curve of tiny gains or tiny loses and see how your daily choices will compound ten or twenty years down the line.

 Proverbs 18:9 [MSG] – “SLACK HABITS AND SLOPPY WORK ARE AS BAD AS VANDALISM.”

A System of Atomic Habits

• IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE CHANGING YOUR HABITS, THE PROBLEM ISN’T’ YOU…THE PROBLEM IS YOUR SYSTEM.

If You Are Having A Problem Changing Bad Habits the Problem Isn’t You…It’s Your System

Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. A person doesn’t rise to the level of their GOALS; they fall to the level of their SYSTEMS.

Bible Study Notes | In Summary

June 2, 2021 • Pastor Ludence Robinson

A SUMMARY OF ATOMIC HABITS BY JAMES CLEAR The Book in Three Sentences 1. An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power, an element of a larger system of intentional growth. 2. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because we don’t want to change, but because we have the wrong process for change to occur. 3. Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will reap a greater reward overtime. The Book’s Five Big Ideas 1. Good habits are the small actions of self-improvement. 2. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on the process instead. 3. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you desire to become. 4. The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying. 5. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. The Book’s Chapters Summarized Chapter 1: To summarize Chapter 1 on The Surprising Power of Tiny Habits. We need to first understand this about habits, habits are a double-edged sword. They can work for you or against you. So, the idea is to create a system for developing good ones. Time magnifies the boundary between success and failure. therefore, good habits make time your friend. Bad habits make time your enemy. If you find yourself struggling to build a good habit or break a bad one, it is not because you have lost your ability to improve. It is often because you have not found our hidden Potential. Our hidden potential is hiding behind the goals we set for ourselves which are more times than not beyond our reach. Goals are simply about the results you want to achieve. While systems are about the processes that lead to those results.” Chapter 2: To summarize Chapter 2 on How Your Habits, Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa) “Ask yourself, who is the type of person I want to become? That person who you desire to be, becomes the source for intrinsic motivation. But to do this, that is, to shape your identity, you will have to change your habits. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. Every action towards that end is a vote for the type of person you wish to be. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously be open to things you cannot change, to change the things you can and the ability to know which brings about the best behavioral change. According to James Clear “there are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.” He says, “Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.” Chapter 3: To summarize Chapter 3 on How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps. Ask yourself 4 simple questions. These four simple questions are the Four Laws of Behavioral Change, which are set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are: 1. How can I make it obvious? 2. How can I make it attractive? 3. How can I make it easy? 4. How can I make it satisfying? Chapter 4: To summarize chapter 4 on The Man Who Didn’t Look Right first we need to ask yourself two questions: ‘Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?’” The reason for asking yourself these questions is because the process of behavioral change always starts with awareness. We need to be cognizant of our habits before we can change them. Once we identify what those good habits are, over time and with enough practice, our brains will pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it. then as soon as our habits become automatic, they will also become second nature. Chapter 5: To summarize chapter 5 on The Best Way to Start a New Habit is to make it obvious, most people think motivation is what they lack, when in truth what they really lack is clarity. When we are clear about thing we can proceed with total confidence. “One of the best ways to build a new habit,” according to James Clear, “is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.” “Habit stacking,” according to James clear “is a strategy you can use to pair a new habit with a current habit.” The two most important cues he says, are time and location. This is where implementation intention is created, which gives you the opportunity to pair a new habit with a specific time and location. Chapter 6: To summarize chapter 6 on Motivation is Overrated; Environment of Often Matters More, according to James Clear, we ought to “Make the cues of good habits obvious in our environment.” Why you may ask. because our environment is the invisible hand that outlines human behavior. He says, “Gradually, your habits become associated not with a single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior, which is the environment one finds themselves in. Therefore, it is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting against old cues, for every habit has its own triggers. Chapter 7: To summarize chapter 7 on The Secret to Self-Control is to spend less time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it. One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the trigger that causes it. Chapter 8: To summarize chapter 7 on How to Make a Habit Irresistible, James clear offers, that we “make it attractive.” He conveys, that “the more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.” It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to act, this is what make the habit irresistible. Chapter 9: To summarize chapter 9 on The Role of Family and Friends in Shaping Your Habits James clear says, “We tend to imitate the habits of three social groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (those with status and prestige).” He proposes, “One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group.” “The normal behavior of the tribe often overpowers the desired behavior of the individual. Most days, we’d rather be wrong with the crowd than be right by ourselves.” Chapter 10: To summarize chapter 10 on How to Find and Fix the Cause of Your Bad Habits James Clear suggests, that we “make it unattractive.” We ought to do this by highlighting the benefits of avoiding a bad habit which will make it unattractive. Therefore, Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings and unattractive when we associate them with negative feelings. Chapter 11: To summarize chapter 11 on Walk Slowly, but Never Backward, James clear suggests that we “make it easy.” He says, the most effective form of learning is practice, not planning.” So “Focus on taking action, not being in motion.” Chapter 12: To summarize chapter 12 on The Law of Least Effort James Clear says, we naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the smallest resistance or the least amount of work. So, the idea is to create an environment where doing the right thing becomes easy as possible. Chapter 13: To summarize chapter 13 on How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the Two-Minute Rule. The Two-Minute Rule states, ‘When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.’ Make it as simple as possible to begin and add to it as time goes on. Chapter 14: To summarize chapter 14 on how to make habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. The way to do it is to make good habits easy and bad habits difficult. You make good habits inevitable by: (1) make it easy (2) make it attractive (3) make it easy (4) make it satisfying. You make bad habits impossible by: (1) Making it invisible (2) Making it unattractive (3) Make it difficult (4) Making it unsatisfying.

Bible Study Notes | CH. 14

April 28, 2021 • Pastor Arthur Jackson III

MAKING GOOD HABITS INEVITABLE AND BAD HABITS IMPOSSIBLE CHAPTER 14 The goal of everything that we have been sharing with you over the past few months have centered on making good habits become inevitable. To that end, we must realize that SOMETIMES SUCCESS IS LESS ABOUT MAKING GOOD HABITS EASY AND MORE ABOUT MAKING BAD HABITS HARD. If you constantly find yourself struggling to follow through on your plans, you could try creating what psychologist call A Commitment Device.  A COMMITMENT DEVICE – Is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future. It is a way to lock in future behavior (bind you to good habits), while at the same time restrict you from bad ones. For Instance –  A person may want to develop more discipline and create a path for future success, so he/she will join the military.  A person may want to increase their credit score while simultaneously eliminate debt, so he/she will only use cash and/or a debt card for purchases.  A person may have a desire to reduce overeating, so he/she will purchase food in individual packages rather than in bulk size.  A person may have a desire to cut calories for example, therefore they could exercise “portion control” by asking the waiter to bring a to go box with their meals. THE KEY IS TO CHANGE THE TASK SUCH THAT IT REQUIRES MORE WORK TO GET OUT OF THE GOOD HABIT THAN TO GET STARTED ON IT. • The automotive industry made wearing seat belts hard NOT to fasten! The annoying chiming sound the car makes when a seatbelt is unfastened is a commitment device! Hearing the constant chiming increase the odds that you’ll do the right thing—fastening the seatbelt, thus making a bad habit (not wearing a seatbelt) difficult in the present. Commitment devices are useful because they enable you to take advantage of good intentions before you can fall victim to temptation.  TAKE A MINUTE AND THINK OF WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A BAD HABIT BECOME MORE DIFFICULT TO ENGAGE IN. 6 STEPS TO MAKE BAD HABITS IMPOSSIBLE 1. IDENTIFY CUES. Something has to trigger a habit, and A CUE CAN BE ANYTHING. Maybe stress makes you crave chocolate, or the sound of your alarm clock triggers you to hit the snooze button. Maybe rejection makes you turn to the Internet. Identifying cues helps you understand what puts your habits into motion. There Are Different Types Of Cues  Physical Cues – How your body responds  Behavioral Cues – The actions we engage in  Cognitive Cues – The thoughts or images we imagine  Emotional Cues – How we are feeling inside 2. CREATE A DISRUPTION. Once you know the cues, you can throw bad habits off track by creating a disruption. If the alarm cues you to bash the snooze button every morning, put the alarm clock on the other side of the room. Trekking across the cold floor will likely disrupt the snooze habit. If engaging in prolonged back and forth verbal exchanges (arguments) increases your heart rate, take deep breaths and work on staying calm. 3. FIND A HABIT REPLACEMENT. Research shows that replacing a bad behavior with a good one is more effective than stopping the bad behavior alone. The new behavior “interferes” with the old habit and prevents your brain from going into autopilot. When you are craving something sweet after your dinner, deciding to eat fruit (grapes) every time your mind thinks “cookie”, substitutes a positive behavior for the negative habit. 4. KEEP IT SIMPLE. It’s usually hard to change a habit because the behavior has become easy and automatic. The opposite is true, too: new behaviors can be hard because your brain’s BASAL GANGLIA, (the “autopilot” part), hasn’t taken over this behavior yet. Simplifying new behaviors helps you integrate them into your autopilot routines. 5. THINK LONG-TERM. Habits often form because they satisfy short-term impulses, the way chewing on your nails might immediately calm your nerves. But giving in to short-term desires often has long-term consequences. Staying focused on the long term while trying to change habits will help you remember why you’re investing the effort. 6. STAY PERSISTENT. Research has shown that what you’ve done before is a strong indicator of what you’ll do next. This means established habits are hard to break. But the good news is, if you keep at it, your new behaviors will turn into habits, too. Persistence works — at first it might be painful to get up at 5 am for that jog, but soon it will be second nature.

Bible Study Notes | CH. 13

April 21, 2021 • Pastor Ludence Robinson

ATOMIC HABITS JAMES CLEAR CHAPTER 13 HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING WITH THE “2-MINUTE RULE” According to James Clear the best way to combat procrastination and start a new habit is to use the “two-minute rule.” What is the “Two-Minute Rule?” The Two-Minute Rule states “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” Two of the main reasons why good habits fail, (1) is because we set the bar too high for ourselves, and (2) the way to we get to our goals are too ambiguous. The point is to make habits as easy as possible to start. I am sure that anyone of us can put on running shoes and tie them, fold a pair of pants, stretch for 3 minutes, and even read one page of a book. To approach good habits in this way is powerful because once you start these small steps it eventually leads to the bigger goal. The small step becomes the means to an end. It makes what you are trying to incorporate into your life, something you can develop over time on an ongoing basis. In other words, it becomes much easier to do, when it is more attainable. Any habit that feels like a challenge, becomes more difficult to do. But in taking smaller steps it makes the challenge much easier to accomplish. James Clear says “A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a gateway habit that naturally leads you down a more productive path.” So, the small or easy clear and concise step is what James Clear calls “the gateway.” The way we figure out the gateway is by charting our goals from “very easy” to “very hard.” For example, he says, “running a marathon is very hard. Running a 5K is hard. Walking ten thousand steps is moderately difficult. Walking ten minutes is easy. And putting on your running shoes is very easy. Your goal might be to run a marathon, but your gateway habit is to put on your running shoes. That’s how you follow the Two-Minute Rule.” So, the idea is, we should do what is simple first, and as time goes on you begin to do a little more and more until you get where you desire to be. But it starts with a single step! Here is why the two-minute rule works, when we accomplish a small task that leads to something bigger, we get hyped. We may at times think it strange that such small steps could accomplish such great wonders. The point here, is not to despise small steps of reading one page of a book or praying for 30 seconds or making one payment towards a bill. Because the attempt is not to do it once, but to master the habit of doing it again and again, as James Clear puts it, it is “to master the habit of showing up.” The truth is, if we are attempting to improve on a good habit it must be established first. So, learning to repeat it often, is where the hope of eventually mastering it lies. So, James Clear cautions that “instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis.” Thus, “the first two minutes simply becomes a ritual at the beginning of a larger routine as you master the art of showing up.” So, as you and I practice those smaller steps, that actually grows into bigger ones it becomes an easier way to master the more difficult skills. As James Clear says, “You may not be able to automate the whole process, but you can make the first action mindless. Make it easy to start and the rest will follow.” The idea is not to do two minutes, that is not the goal, the goal is to do more than two minutes. Two minutes is the gateway to get you started. I mean, who is really inspired to read one page and stop, one push up and not two or wash a dish and not clean the kitchen. It’s not a mental trick nor is it a forced behavior, it’s a start to a new habit. James Clear suggest that “If the Two-Minute Rule feels forced, try this: do it for two minutes and then stop. Go for a run, but you must stop after two minutes. Start meditating, but you must stop after two minutes. Study Arabic, but you must stop after two minutes. It’s not a strategy for starting, it’s the whole thing. Your habit can only last one hundred and twenty seconds.” Strategies like this work for another reason too: they strengthen the behavior you are trying to build for yourself. If you show up to the gym for a week, even if it’s just for two minutes—you are shaping a new behavior. You are not concerned about getting in shape. You’re focused on becoming the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts. You’re taking the smallest steps that supports the kind of behavior you are trying to develop. James Clear says that “we rarely think about change this way because everyone is consumed by the end goal.” But one push-up is better than not exercising at all. One minute of panino practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading a book is better than never reading at all. James Clear, says “It’s far better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.” Whenever you are struggling to stick with a habit, you can employ the Two-Minute Rule. It’s a simple way to make your habits easy. Here are five nuggets you can use: 1. Set concrete goals - The most effective goals are specific, measurable and achievable 2. Set priorities - write down all the things that you need to do and place them in order of importance. 3. Break down your work into little steps - A seemingly overwhelming test gives birth to procrastination 4. Tell others about your goals - people knowing your goals will help you stay accountable. 5. Reward yourself - when you complete the task acknowledge what you’ve done. Reinforcement is a good way to motivate yourself.