Atomic Habits — Part 2

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atomic habits identity mindset self improvement be who you want to be

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This book is very similar to a point of view made some time ago. You have to "pretend" to be whoever you want to be. Now it seems that this is also a way to change the fundamental perception. [eat melon][eat melon]
这本书和前一段时间的一个观点很相像，你想成为什么样的人，就要去“装”他。现在看来，这也是一种改变根本认知的方法。[吃瓜][吃瓜]
Translated as "Atomic Habits", many people will mistakenly think it is a popular science book. Many movie titles are also added based on the plot, rather than the original title. For example, the 1980s movie <<Manhunt" was originally called "君よwrathの川を多れ!". My personal opinion is for reference only.
译成《原子习惯》有很多人会误以为是科普书，很多电影片名也是根据剧情，而不是原有片名添加的，如80年代电影<<追捕》原名为《君よ忿怒の川を渡れ!》，个人观点仅供参考。
1. Decide the type of person you want to be. 2. Prove it to yourself with small wins. However, I find the first step difficult.
1. Decide the type of person you want to be. 2. Prove it to yourself with small wins. 但是，我觉得第一步比较困难。

Transcript

0:00Hi everyone, welcome to Read with Selina.
0:02Today we're going to read
0:03James Clear's book Atomic Habits.
0:06We're on Chapter 2, How Your Habits
0:08Shape Your Identity and Vice Versa.
0:10Once you have a habit, it's very
0:12hard to break from it, which makes
0:14it extremely difficult for us to cultivate
0:16a new good habit or to get
0:18rid of an old bad habit.
0:20And in this chapter, James Clear focuses
0:23on why that is and how we
0:25can potentially tackle that so that you
0:27can effectively change your habits.
0:28Over the past week, I've
0:29been pretty badly food poisoned.
0:31And yesterday I went to this restaurant
0:33and they had all these super delicate
0:35looking spices in small bowls that
0:38go with all the enchiladas and all
0:40varieties of whatever food that you get.
0:42Usually when I go to restaurants,
0:44I would not hesitate for even once to
0:46always add spicy sauce into all my food
0:49because I spent all my entire
0:50teenage years in Hunan, and that's just
0:53what we normally do whenever we go eat.
0:56Yesterday when I picked up
0:57the bowl, 2 little figures
0:58started arguing in my head.
0:59One person was saying you should
1:01take care of your body.
1:02This is not the time
1:03to eat chili yet.
1:04And then this other person said,
1:06well, you grew up in Hunan,
1:08so you eat spicy food.
1:10And guess what I did?
1:12I ended up pouring chili sauce to
1:14everything that I ordered and ended up
1:16eating a very spicy meal.
1:17The story shows how powerful identity
1:19is in shaping our behaviors.
1:21James Clear claims that the reason why
1:23it's so hard for us to make
1:25a habit change is because we're approaching
1:27it the wrong way, and we're trying
1:29to change the wrong things.
1:30And in this chapter James Clear
1:31focuses on why that is and
1:34how we can potentially tackle that.
1:36He proposes that there's 3
1:37different layers when we try
1:38to carry out behavioral changes.
1:40The very outer circle are the
1:42outcomes, and then in the middle
1:44comes the processes, and in the
1:46very center is identity.
1:48By outcomes he means the
1:49things that we typically pursue.
1:51Things like winning an award,
1:52losing weight, reading more books.
1:54And the processes are the daily habits
1:56such as developing a new gym routine,
1:59making a schedule to read books every
2:01day in the morning.
2:02And then identity means who you are.
2:05This means your principles, your beliefs,
2:07and things that are deep in
2:08your core of who you are
2:09as a human being.
2:10So I would summarize outcomes as what
2:12you have, processes as what you do,
2:15and identity as who you are.
2:18So James Clear is saying that most
2:19people are approaching habit change outside-in,
2:23which means that they start from an
2:24outcome and they try to figure out
2:26what process they should adopt.
2:27And the reason why it fails is
2:28because by going outside-in, you're never
2:31really changing your inner identity.
2:33We as human beings have this tendency
2:35to eliminate inconsistencies in our life.
2:37So if there's anything in your processes
2:39that do not align with your identity,
2:42then that process cannot last for long.
2:44So let's say that you are
2:45someone that does not like working
2:47out because you deeply believe that
2:49comfort is more important than health.
2:51Let's mark that belief with red color.
2:54And let's say that for
2:55whatever reason, you decide to
2:56pick up a new habit.
2:57You want to work out every
2:59single day, and you started to
3:00go to gym, and you hope
3:01that this habit will last forever.
3:03Let's mark that habit with green.
3:07Because whenever you work out, you're
3:08compromising a certain degree of relaxation
3:11in exchange for health, as long
3:13as you still hold the old
3:15belief, then this circle of habit
3:16is not going to be sustainable.
3:18You may be able to go to
3:19the gym at the beginning, but eventually
3:21you will revert back to your old
3:23habit of not going to the gym.
3:25Identity affects processes affects outcomes.
3:28So as long as there's
3:29inconsistencies within your identity, you
3:32can't adopt a sustainable habit.
3:34Which is why James proposes that in
3:36order to achieve the outcome that you
3:39aspire for, the correct approach is not
3:41to tackle this directly,
3:43but to change your identity first.
3:45It's always about who you
3:47are, then what you have.
3:49And in lieu of setting outcome-oriented goals,
3:52he suggests to set identity-oriented goals.
3:55For example, the goal is
3:56not to read a book.
3:57The goal is to become a reader.
3:59The goal is not to
4:00run a marathon, the goal
4:01is to become a runner.
4:03The goal is not to
4:04learn an instrument, the goal
4:06is to become a musician.
4:08So he says that once your
4:09behavior and identity align, there's no
4:12need for any changes.
4:13You're comfortable with doing the actions.
4:15And this is exactly what happened to
4:17me when I picked up the habit
4:18of reading books after becoming an adult.
4:21In high school and college, there
4:22was a long period of time
4:23where I felt like I really
4:25didn't have time to read.
4:26The identity that I see myself
4:28as was: a busy student who
4:31does not want to read additional
4:33books but I have to, to
4:35because this is what need do.
4:38That identity of creates a lot
4:40resentment whenever I pick up a
4:41book and start reading it.
4:43Every time when I do it,
4:44I feel like I'm going through
4:45the motions; not because I want
4:47to, but because I'm forced to.
4:48And in my mind I hear:
4:50I hate it, I hate it, I hate it,
4:51but I still have to do it,
4:52I hate it, I hate it.
4:53As you can imagine,
4:54that is not sustainable.
4:56And this is contrasted with
4:57what I'm currently doing now.
4:59I genuinely see reading books as enjoyable,
5:02and I always go out of my
5:04way to seek ways to read.
5:06I see myself as someone who is
5:08genuinely curious and likes to improve herself.
5:11And I see reading books as the
5:14means to carry out that objective.
5:16And now I recognize that the
5:18old idea of "I hate reading"
5:20was a limiting mindset.
5:22So I would like to invite you
5:24to reflect on whether you have any
5:26of the following limiting mindsets:
5:28I'm terrible with directions.
5:30I'm not a morning person.
5:31I'm bad at remembering people's names.
5:34Now we know given our previous
5:35discussion, that it is possible to reframe
5:38your belief to make it compatible with
5:40(the) ideal outcome you want to obtain.
5:42And he says, in the short term
5:43you may struggle with your habits because
5:45you're too busy or because you're too
5:47tired, but in the long term, that's
5:49never the real cause.
5:50The real reason you fail to stick
5:53to a habit is always because your
5:54self-image gets in the way.
5:56So he says, you can't be
5:57too attached to one version of
5:59your identity because progress requires unlearning.
6:03We have to recognize old beliefs
6:04that we have that are incompatible
6:06with making improvements and rewire ourselves
6:09into believing something new that will
6:11enable us to take the necessary
6:13actions in a more sustainable manner.
6:15Given that our identity or the way
6:17that we see ourselves has such a
6:20profound impact on what actions we take,
6:22one might be curious to know:
6:24How can we change our identity in a
6:27way that would take us to the
6:29outcome that we eventually want to get?
6:31or is it even possible to change
6:33our identities?
6:33As we can imagine, changing
6:35one's identity couldn't be easy
6:37because identity is something that's
6:39deeply held within us.
6:40But it is not impossible.
6:41And this is exactly what James Clear
6:43discusses in this part of the book.
6:45He maps out two simple steps
6:46with which you can shape your
6:48identity to become the way that
6:50you want to become.

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