Bible Study Notes | CH. 10 - Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

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 | In Summary

June 2, 2021 • Pastor Ludence Robinson

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Antioch Missionary Baptist Church