Setting new routines, Keystone Habits and Small Victories.

Today I want to talk about Keystone habits and Small Victories. I will talk about this tomorrow as well.

Before you can ever get a big win, you need small victories to reinforce the identity.

Why?

Because without those small victories, the belief will never set in that you can win big. Or win at all.

James Clear talks about Small victories in Atomic Habits and so does Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit.

James Clear actually gives a path for it. He says that when most people aim for something, like writing, they aim to write a novel.

But before a novel can become a real possibility, the belief in your identity as a writer needs to set in. Without that belief, you will not take the actions that a writer would take. Because in that early moment of the decision you aren’t a writer.

So what is a small victory here?

A novel consists of words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters…you get the picture. When they are all combined in a meaningful way, that’s when you get a novel.

So what’s the easiest step to begin writing a novel?

Writing words! Words, to sentences, to paragraphs, to chapters! It all comes together slowly. That’s just how it is in today’s world.

Till about 500 years ago our world was based on the short term effort and reward cycle.

Hungry? Go hunt and get food. It was that simple. Short term efforts were all that was needed to get the rewards.

But the world now is more about long term efforts that lead to rewards. Doctors need to spend a decade or more to begin earning well. It all takes a long time to come together.

Need to lose weight? Exercise daily. You can’t just lose the wright in one day.

But there’s a problem.

The brain, designed over millions of years by evolution, is ill suited to the long term effort and reward cycle. That’s why we get addicted to things/products that give us short term rewards.

Food ordering apps, TV shows and the streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, PrimeVideo are all designed on this short term effort and reward principle.

And then of course all the social media apps and websites!

That’s why small victories help you gain confidence in yourself. These small actions support the identity you want to build.

Want to be fit? If you show up daily to exercise, then you will be.

Want to be an author? If you show up daily to write then you will be.

You can use the 2-minute rule which James Clear talks about, but more on that tomorrow!

What identity do you want to create?

What small victories will support that?

Sometimes showing up is all that matters.