One of the topics we explore on the Mastermind group, is how to create habits that support our growth.

In preparing for this conversation, I rediscovered the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and came across a concept that blew my mind. (Yes, that exciting).

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
―James Clear

Boom.

Clear goes on to explain how we live in a society that focus a lot more on the final outcome, rather than the actual process to get there. We are obsessed with setting goals and becoming an overnight success yet, we pay little to no attention to the systems (habits, actions, behaviors) that will support us in (or prevent us from) achieving those goals.

“I want to run a 10k” vs “I’m a runner”
“I want to lose 20 pounds” vs “I want to become someone that eats healthy and exercise often”

One of our greatest challenges when it comes to habits, is maintaining awareness of what we are actually doing.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
―Carl Jung

So, how do you take control and design systems that support your growth?

The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. Strategies like Pointing-and-Calling and the Habits Scorecard (link below) are focused on getting you to recognize your habits and acknowledge the cues that trigger them, which makes it easier to discover which habits you should change and respond in a way that benefits you.

The more automatic a behavior becomes, the less likely we are to consciously think about it. And when we’ve done something a thousand times before, we begin to overlook things. We assume that the next time will be just like the last. We’re so used to doing what we’ve always done that we don’t stop to question whether it’s the right thing to do at all. Many of our failures in performance are largely attributable to a lack of self-awareness.

― James Clear

The Habits Scorecard: Use This Simple Exercise to Discover Which Habits You Should Change

Tool of the week: Atomic Habits by James Clear | Core Message