This is not really the kind of book you can spoil so...

I am trying one thing from the book to see how easy it is to apply. I have identified a problem... when I do not make my bed each day with every night I sleep in it it gets more unmade. Eventually the state of the bed interferes with my ability to easily sleep and I am forced to tear it down and remake it.

Using "Habit Stacking" I am making my bed before I let the dog out of the crate. I have done it for 2 days we will see if I am still making my bed in 2 months.

I used an audible credit on it so I am not aware of how much it cost... sorry.

I am listening to it while I drive and when I have some free moments at night so I am only a little over halfway through it currently.

DogMom919 wrote: »

No worries....I am always open to learn something new! Thank you for getting this started....hopefully, I will catch up by end of week.

You probably will. When the discussion begins I may have to go back and re-listen to a few portions anyway.

So far it seems mostly sensible and it is about making small sustainable changes so it fits our group philosophy pretty well. I also like that it is a book on generic habit changes not a book on weight loss or exercise specifically.

hansep0012 wrote: »

@NovusDies I'm in, will figure out by what method to absorb the book (audio? Kindle? library? oh the choices!). Are you working towards a specific date to start the conversation?

Not really. It is not the kind of book that can be spoiled and within a few chapters you can be commenting on what you learned or what you think does not apply to you.

What seems right on starting?

DogMom919 wrote: »

I have received my book and started reading, I will await additional information on how the discussion will proceed...

In the meantime, I have identified 3 habits that I will begin to implement:
1). Get dressed each day (i.e. not sleepwear)
2). Put on shoes each day (i.e. not flip flops)
3). Learn to meditate (utilize one of the Great Courses through Audible)

I know my first 2 goals are very basic, but I am starting where I am....I know that no one here will judge.....I appreciate all of you.

If those first two habits make your life better then they are great. All three are exactly the kinds of things I think will make for good test cases.

I have reviewed the early chapter list and while some chapters may be discussed in groups chapter 1 is fairly foundational so it needs to be discussed by itself.

Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of Tiny Habits
Starts: 11/18

Let's keep this one open for at least a week so anyone who wants to join in doesn't fall behind waiting for their book to arrive and get it read. After that we will move more quickly.

Satisfiedwithbetter wrote: »

So what I got from Chapter 1 - Your actions(tiny habits of continuous small improvement) are what really matters. Learn to love and/or enjoy the process(system or group of actions), not the result(goal). Your actions create your results over time.

Quote “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

You might have started a little early but you know we are not very formal here.

He says systems I have always referred to it in my weight loss as processes or my routine. I have said often I think of myself as process-driven not results-driven now. That is one of the reasons the book jumped out at me.

I just finished the book so I think I am going to listen to it again in segments as we discuss it. It was a lot of material to absorb so a second pass seems like a good idea. I will make sure I get chapter 1 done again before Monday.

For any of you speed readers chapter 17 has an example of a "contract" that is weight and fitness oriented. I am not knocking it if it helped bring about success but I do not think that is an example to follow. It is too rigid. It penalized any mistake. Some people can get away with demanding perfection routine but don't think it fits the rest of the book very well. We will discuss it more when that chapter is up.

Chapter 1 Discussion (yes I am a few hours early)

When I was much younger I did summer work on a nearby ranch. One of the things I learned is that a job being done was fairly meaningless. No matter how much you got done by the end of the day there was that much and more waiting for the next. The more time you spent being overwhelmed by how much work there was to be done was time not getting things done. You couldn't worry about it. You just kept working until you could barely move and prayed that the night would restore you enough to go again the next day.

The only goal I ever had was what was right in front of me. The big important projects were done by people older and with more skill. I was a grunt.

I have never forgotten what the lesson was and I have applied it to many areas of my life. Just not to all and certainly not to weight loss until about 20 months ago.

Clear says that we should concentrate on systems (aka processes) and only consider goals as a directional heading and not be goal oriented. I think it is a matter of how you view it. I start most days with the goal of being happy, staying in a deficit, and increasing my level of fitness. So my goal is the process. I do not start each day worrying about my bigger goals. I try not to think about them much until they are in view.

In my 2 test cases the goals have different flavors.

In my uke practicing the goal is to play music. Based on what I have learned in my weight loss and the book now I am concentrating on just doing the basics each day and adding proficiency instead of worrying about playing a song at all. Not a lot of improvement in the short time and the short practices but there is some improvement.

In my bed making the goal is to improve my sleep and keep the house neater. Improving my sleep though is not immediate because the bedding didn't have an impact every night it only had an impact after a week or more of not making the bed. Keeping the house neater happens immediately after the bed is made.

That was long-winded enough. I could go on but I would rather others start giving their thoughts first.

Probably should have started this after Thanksgiving because even I am not posting as much right now...

Let's open up the discussion for chapters 1-4 and we will leave it there for a couple of weeks.

Chapter 2: How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa)

Chapter 3: How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps

Chapter 4: The Man Who Didn’t Look Right

Chapter 1 grabbed my interest because other than a few terminology differences I realized this was my plan already.

Chapter 2 is the one that started making me think about changes. I started thinking about how I view myself. Am I an former sedentary person trying to be active or should I just be an active person? Am I a formerly super ridiculously morbid obese person or a healthy weight person trying to chip away at the fat that doesn't belong?

With weight loss I have not really perfected how I should see myself now. Identity change probably takes a little time to determine what new labels feel comfortable. I see the merit in changing it just won't be immediate and it doesn't have to be.

I find it easier to call myself an active person now though. Even though that label is not 100 percent true yet I don't find the mental resistance like I do with weight loss.

I have always tried to be a neat person but making my bed seems to help me identify with calling myself a neat person now. It has snowballed into other new habits like taking my shoes off in the garage now instead of the kitchen and hanging my coat up on the hook each time I take it off. I am tidying things up a little quicker and more often than I once did. I think it is because I start the day with an act of 'neatness' it is helping me be that person. My wife is not complaining.

However, I find it hard to call myself a musician when I can barely play 3 songs and not very well. I know the purpose is not to lie to myself but encourage musical thinking but it feels like a lie.

I guess my real world results are mixed with assuming an identity change and then engaging in habits that support the change. If I am mentally rejecting a new label that can't work so I think the solution there is to try to determine an interim label that feels more comfortable. Maybe instead of calling myself a musician I can be a beginner musician. I don't know. It is all a work in progress.

I won't jump into my thoughts on 3 or 4 yet.