Positive Mindlessness: Automatic Habits for Successful Growth

Most of the good things I do every day I do without even thinking. The things I do automatically, by habit, keep me heathy and safe and kind. 

Many of these things were drilled into me when I was little, like saying please and thank you and picking things up when they fall down, making my bed, tidying up, clearing the snow from the walkway, all kinds of good habits I do because they're automatic or just the right thing to do. 

Brushing my teeth is a good example. After breakfast and before I go to bed, I brush my teeth. The way that I brush, the way I use the toothpaste and the water, and the way I leave the bathroom when I'm done are all automatic. I can do it while half-asleep and with my eyes closed half the time. 

According to James Clear, if I can piggyback a change I want to make onto that toothbrushing habit, I'll have a good chance of making that new goal into a habit. If I want to take better care of my skin and lips, I could add a moisturizing routine while I'm in the bathroom and looking at the sink. At first, I will have to be mindful, but later, it will become mindless, easy, just part of who I am (the kind of person who takes care of her skin and lips, who ages gracefully). 

I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's inspiring.

I already know that I can learn to do new things and turn them into habits. I keep my clean masks and hand sanitizer by the door so that I remember to grab them whenever I leave the house. I drop my mask in the dirty laundry basket when I return. I've only been doing this since the summer of 2020. 

I started walking every morning, and I've been doing it 6 out of 7 days a week for about the same amount of time, about a year. My walking buddy (Dexter) helps to keep me consistent. He's terribly disappointed with me when I fail and I hate to disappoint him. I will stick with the daily walk and will add more healthy activity so that I can stay mobile and active for my future grandchildren.

I am working on creating a vision of who I wish to become, and I know some of the things I need to do to become that new version of myself. I think I'll keep the ideas from Atomic Habits handy right here to help me.

Here is a good summary of the book as a refresher to look back on. It comes from a cool website that I discovered https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/ "the best nonfiction book summaries resource on the planet".  I've only included the main ideas here. Follow this link to read the full summary: Samuel T. Davies Book Summary Or, buy the James Clear book and read it yourself. It's excellent. 

The Book in Three Sentences

1. An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
2. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
3. Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.

The Five Big Ideas

1.  Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
2.  If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
3. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
4. The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.
5. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.