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.

I am not interested in aspiring to Jimmy Page heights. I want to play for casual fun.

That is one thing I didn't like about the book. Most of his examples were extraordinary in an attempt to be inspirational. I don't respond to that. In fact, I do not find it helpful when practicing music each day. I want to be just content with improving a little each day. The next step will present itself when I am done with this one. At some point I will be content to stop or move on to another instrument.

I took music lessons for 2 years. I now realize that my teacher was not teaching me how to plan as much as teaching me how to teach. In 2 years of weekly lessons and practicing most days I was still stuck at a beginner level. In all that time I learned maybe 2 chords. I could read music and pluck notes one at a time but that was highly disappointing after so much time. My music teacher didn't listen to my complaints and I finally gave it up.

I see no problem with a goal being average or even mundane. That is realistic in a lot of cases. I am not trying to change careers and move into music I am just simply trying to add a little extra flavor to my life. Those type of examples are probably not great for selling books though.

That was not my point really. My point was trying to come up with an identity label that feels comfortable and accessible. It is not really something I need help with I was just making a comment that some of it feels more natural and some of it does not. I think the point of discussing the book and trying to apply it is to find the parts that work well as is, stuff that needs to be figured out, and stuff that may not work at all.

I think eventually I would like to consider myself a musician even if it is just playing for fun but right now that doesn't feel right. Instead of it helping me to think like the person I want to become I am thinking about the label.