For the faithful… I can’t believe that in my announcement post that I neglected to write that my readers can expect to read my thoughts on books. Considering that book related thoughts will most likely be the bulk of my content, I just wanted to correct that mistake here before I got started.
Putting The Thoughtfulness of my Wife to Good Use
For Valentine’s Day, my lovely wife was kind enough to give me some book money. I had committed to not buying any books this year unless they were purchased with Christmas money or birthday money so that I could focus on reading the hundreds of books that already grace the shelves of my personal library. A month into the new year, that resolution is holding up well enough even if somewhat imperfectly. However, when your wife gives you a $30 Amazon gift card and insists you spend it on books and nothing else, you can’t exactly tell her no.
One of the books that I purchased with that gift card is James Clear’s Atomic Habits. This is a book that has been on my list for quite some time, but I just have yet to get around to it. Less than 100 pages in now, I am certainly glad I finally pulled the trigger.
Here’s the key: get 1% better at something every day
The premise of the book so far is that the way to create lasting change in any situation is to create at least a 1% improvement in a certain area each day. Of course, if you get 1% better in an area every day, over time you will begin to see drastic improvement in whatever it is that you are trying to improve. The most interesting concept that Clear has covered so far is this: instead of focusing all our energy on accomplishing goals, we should be creating and perfecting systems. That thought came in the context of a discussion on how success is not achieved by a once in a lifetime transformation but instead by the daily habits to which we commit ourselves.
“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.” James Clear
WHAT you want to do vs. WHO you want to become
The key to the philosophy being put forth in Atomic Habits is to focus on habits that will transform you into the kind of man or woman you want to become rather than a specific goal you want to achieve. There is of course a reflective nature to this philosophy… In order to focus on a system that enables you to become the type of person you want to become, you first have to figure out what type of person you want to become. What are your values? On what hills will you choose to die? What is important to you?
“If nothing changes, nothing is going to change. It is a simple two-step process. 1) Decide the type of person you want to be and 2) Prove it to yourself with small wins.” James Clear
Trust the Process…
It is obvious that James Clear is the author of this book. This truth of course did not stop me from imagining that I was getting a glimpse inside Coach Nick Saban’s head while reading the first few chapters. This really has Saban’s Process written all over it. What is your job? Figure out what that is and then do it with pride, effort, toughness, commitment, and discipline every single day. Don’t worry about trying to accomplish someone else’s goals. If you focus on doing YOUR job to the best of your ability, the rest will fall into place.
In God’s gracious sovereignty, all of this is of course very strongly connected with some ideas that have been rolling around in my head over the last several weeks as a result of my Scripture reading. I have been spending a lot of time in Proverbs, and the Lord has been showing me the importance of focusing my effort and energy on just what is in front of me. That is the connection to The Process and Atomic Habits. Once I get clarity on what my job is, I should only focus on that. To put it another way, I am called as a man to exercise dominion and authority over each of the realms that have been entrusted to me by the Lord. There are a handful of realms the Lord has entrusted to me. I’m a man, I’m a husband, I’m a minister, I’m a home owner… You get the idea. If I find myself drifting into anything that doesn’t fall under one of those realms, I need to check myself and make sure I realign and take care of my business.
More on that to come! Stay tuned.