Improving 1% Everyday, but How?
In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear addresses the concept of "1% Better Every Day". He used this diagram to interpret the impact of improving by 1% every day.
Now we understand the importance of consistent improvement even if it is just a small step each time. But how can you generate this 1% improvement every day?
This article by Herbert Lin from Medium gives us the answer to this question.
He discusses the significance of three factors — willpower, passion, and habit.
Firstly, for willpower. The book The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal, compares willpower to muscles.
Willpower becomes stronger when you train it, but excessive use will exhaust it. Therefore, using willpower alone won't help you obtain that consistent improvement.
What about passion? Passion is a key to motivate you to do something. However, this motivation often doesn't have a long term impact. In addition, it's hard to use passion to consistently doing something that is painful such as dieting, exercising, writing essays. So passion is not effective when you feel reluctant in doing something.
If willpower and passion alone don't work, will habit help?
We, as humans, like consistency. Habits can grant us consistency, thus helping us to maintain a routine in the long term.
To establish a habit in the first place, the aforementioned passion and willpower will come into play. By combining passion and willpower, habits can be created, fostering a holistic structure of consistent improvement.
And I want to end this week's newsletter with the following quote:
Then we need to set goals to provide a clear destination for this car
Habit is the engine that keeps the car moving forward
Willpower is the gearbox that adjusts the speed
Passion is the map for finding the way
Finally, the most important thing is to master the key to start the engine and the steering wheel to drive.
It can only be yourself
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