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Superhuman By Habit: A Guide to Becoming the Best Possible Version of Yourself, One Tiny Habit at a Time
Our willpower is limited, yet we rely on it every day to get our tasks done. Even if we build willpower slowly over time, it's never enough to reach all of our goals. The solution lies in habit creation, the method by which we transform hard tasks into easy ones, making them automatic and independent of our will power. Each of us has millions of habits, in how we do our work, interact with others, perceive the world, and think about ourselves. Left unexamined, these habits are just as likely to hinder our progress as they are to push it along. Without a deliberate system for building habits, we become our own worst enemy. Superhuman by Habit examines habit building in depth. It covers the principles and philosophies of habit building, as well as the practical nuts and bolts implementing those habits. The second half of the book is dedicated to specific habits in every major area of life, covering the pros and cons of each, the path to implementing them, and specific notes about each one.
122 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2014
371 people are currently reading
5785 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
October 20, 2014
I regularly read and enjoy a blog called "Zen Habits". This book shares much of the same philosophy, that building habits is a muscle best exercised daily, starting with small changes that make it easy to succeed. I've utilized this method and think it has a lot of promise if you actually implement the ideas suggested. I use a simple little app on my phone to help me track my new habits which gives me a sense of accomplishment and some positive reinforcement. Don't overwhelm yourself with too much at once or you're setting yourself up to fail. In the second part of this book, the author gives more specific advice focusing on habits that are important to him. I skimmed through this section of the book as we don't share all of the same priorities, life goals or general philosophy. Overall, I'd consider this a useful, little book and it's definitely possible to glean some useful information about changing your daily routine for the better if you're willing to mine for the gold.
February 24, 2018
This is a book about how building good habits and being consistent with those habits can make a man a superman. Author tells about about how he does it in this book. Here are some notes that i took:
1. When people learn that I write every single day, study a foreign language every day, work on my big projects every day, eat healthy every day, work out every other day, and maintain a consistent sleep schedule, they marvel at the deep well of self discipline that I have. In truth, though, it's all just habits that feel easy. Habits are the closest we can get to having superpowers.
2. Replacing just a few key negative habits with a few positive habits can easily be the difference between being mostly unhappy and being happy almost all of the time.
3. The benefit of a habit isn't the magnitude of each individual action you take, but the cumulative impact it will have on your life in the long term.
4. Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide. If missing one day reduces your chances of long-term success by a small amount like five percent, missing two days reduces it by forty percent or so. Three days missed and you may as well be starting over.
5. When you first miss a habit, the next occurrence of it should become a top priority. You must execute on that habit at any level possible. Do it perfectly if you can, but do it terribly if that's all you can handle. Just make sure that you do it.
6. Just like a marriage, any habit that's intended to last forever will require loyalty through good and bad, sickness and health.
7. Remember that the power of a habit isn't actually in the individual execution, but in the consistency. It is far far worse to skip doing something than to just do a horrible job of it.
8. So if you're trying to lose weight, evaluate yourself based on how well you stick to your plan rather than the number on the scale, especially in the short term.
9. Track your adherence to process, not your results.
10. Sometimes building small habits can build momentum and self-confidence that gives people the strength and motivation to tackle the larger ones.
11. The first phase of habits, countering your weaknesses, makes you the best version of yourself.
12. Exploring areas that “just aren't you” is how you expand how you define yourself and take things to the next level.
13. create habits to surround yourself with positive people. The way I did this was to create a habit of only hanging out with people who I wanted to become better friends with. Within half a year this changed my social circle significantly for the better.
14. Whether other people are doing smart things, dumb things, things that help us, or things that harm us, both parties can be best served through fostering compassion and minimizing focus on how wrong the other is.
15. “Remember that everyone is just doing their best and trying to be happy, just like you.”
16. Eating healthy food may be the single most important habit that you can cultivate.
17. Sugar and highly-refined grains are the most significantly unhealthy things in the standard diet. Eliminating those two groups of foods is about eighty percent of getting to a healthy diet.
18. Items to cut out include refined sugars (including all fruit juices), agave and maple syrups, and honey, and refined grains such as white flour, white rice, and white pasta.
19. increase your intake of complex carbohydrates, like brown rice, as well as natural simple carbohydrates like fruit.
20. The goal isn't to have a perfect diet in every way, but to eliminate the dozen or so foods that do the most damage, and to enjoy your diet enough to make it sustainable.
21. When you successfully tackle sugar and refined carbohydrates, you can turn your attention to fats. The greatest threat is consuming too many Omega-6 and Omega-9 fats. These are found in most cooking oils as well as non-pasture raised meat, eggs, and dairy.
22. limit your oil intake to coconut oil for cooking and dressing, olive oil for dressing, and grass-fed butter. Meat should be limited to grass-fed beef and lamb, pasture-raised pork and poultry and wild-caught fish.
23. experiment with extremely healthy foods like miso soup, kale, cruciferous vegetables, tempeh, nuts, and seeds.
24. I eat a sardine sandwich and tuna sandwich almost every day for lunch. Any time I'm running low on Ezekiel bread, spinach, hummus, or fish, I restock so that I'm never more than a few minutes away from a healthy meal.
25. The goal with good sleep is to get as much sleep as your body wants, probably around 8 hours on average, and to wake up without an alarm clock.
26. The first step towards a good sleep habit is creating a good sleep environment. The key components of a good sleep environment are complete darkness and silence.
27. The tipping point for me was reading the excellent book, the Willpower Instinct, which said that the two best practices for increasing willpower were working out and meditating every day.
28. There are a lot of purported benefits of meditation, all of which I'm sure are experienced by one person or another, but the most significant benefit I've derived is better impulse control.
29. Every day, just sit for five minutes in a quiet space, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. For the first minute or two, it can help to subvocalize, “breathe in.... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out...” Such a simple task is enough to keep your mind focused.
30. Your overriding goal is just to sit there for five minutes. Any time you do that, you have successfully meditated. When you notice that your mind starts thinking about something else, refocus on your breath.
31. The most tangible benefit I noticed from meditation was that it created a space in between feeling an impulse and acting on it.
32. Work out three days a week, doing three exercises each day. Monday is deadlifts, pullups, and rows. Wednesday is bench press, incline bench press, and curls. Friday is squat or leg press, straight-leg deadlift, and cable crunches. Deadlifts of both varieties are two sets of 4-6 reps, pullups are three sets of 4-6, everything else is three sets of 8-12.
33. Shifting your diet to 30-40% protein, including a shake one hour before working out, will help.
34. Ideas don't exist in a vacuum, so whatever outside influences we're exposed to become a part of our creation process and affect our output.
35. Our brains are lazy and we're creatures of habit. That means that without conscious effort, we will only do what is comfortable and familiar.
36. By making desirable behaviors comfortable and familiar, we can change them from being cumbersome and mentally taxing to comfortable and easy.
37. I noticed that having a clean and uncluttered living and working space makes it easier to think, helps keep my stress levels low, and improves my mood.
38. The essential habit of becoming a minimalist is the habit of regularly evaluating how your possessions either add to or detract from the conscious life you're living and then getting rid of those things that are burdensome.
39. Twice, then Quit is very simple. When you want to quit working for the first time, don't. Push through and work some more. The second time you want to quit, also don't quit. Push through again. The third time you want to quit, go ahead and quit. This habit is deceptively simple, but is very effective.
40. To truly exceed our normal capabilities, we must learn to use that willpower as efficiently as possible. To do that, we habitualize as much as possible, taking actions that previously consumed willpower and making them automatic.
A good and easy to read book.
1. When people learn that I write every single day, study a foreign language every day, work on my big projects every day, eat healthy every day, work out every other day, and maintain a consistent sleep schedule, they marvel at the deep well of self discipline that I have. In truth, though, it's all just habits that feel easy. Habits are the closest we can get to having superpowers.
2. Replacing just a few key negative habits with a few positive habits can easily be the difference between being mostly unhappy and being happy almost all of the time.
3. The benefit of a habit isn't the magnitude of each individual action you take, but the cumulative impact it will have on your life in the long term.
4. Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide. If missing one day reduces your chances of long-term success by a small amount like five percent, missing two days reduces it by forty percent or so. Three days missed and you may as well be starting over.
5. When you first miss a habit, the next occurrence of it should become a top priority. You must execute on that habit at any level possible. Do it perfectly if you can, but do it terribly if that's all you can handle. Just make sure that you do it.
6. Just like a marriage, any habit that's intended to last forever will require loyalty through good and bad, sickness and health.
7. Remember that the power of a habit isn't actually in the individual execution, but in the consistency. It is far far worse to skip doing something than to just do a horrible job of it.
8. So if you're trying to lose weight, evaluate yourself based on how well you stick to your plan rather than the number on the scale, especially in the short term.
9. Track your adherence to process, not your results.
10. Sometimes building small habits can build momentum and self-confidence that gives people the strength and motivation to tackle the larger ones.
11. The first phase of habits, countering your weaknesses, makes you the best version of yourself.
12. Exploring areas that “just aren't you” is how you expand how you define yourself and take things to the next level.
13. create habits to surround yourself with positive people. The way I did this was to create a habit of only hanging out with people who I wanted to become better friends with. Within half a year this changed my social circle significantly for the better.
14. Whether other people are doing smart things, dumb things, things that help us, or things that harm us, both parties can be best served through fostering compassion and minimizing focus on how wrong the other is.
15. “Remember that everyone is just doing their best and trying to be happy, just like you.”
16. Eating healthy food may be the single most important habit that you can cultivate.
17. Sugar and highly-refined grains are the most significantly unhealthy things in the standard diet. Eliminating those two groups of foods is about eighty percent of getting to a healthy diet.
18. Items to cut out include refined sugars (including all fruit juices), agave and maple syrups, and honey, and refined grains such as white flour, white rice, and white pasta.
19. increase your intake of complex carbohydrates, like brown rice, as well as natural simple carbohydrates like fruit.
20. The goal isn't to have a perfect diet in every way, but to eliminate the dozen or so foods that do the most damage, and to enjoy your diet enough to make it sustainable.
21. When you successfully tackle sugar and refined carbohydrates, you can turn your attention to fats. The greatest threat is consuming too many Omega-6 and Omega-9 fats. These are found in most cooking oils as well as non-pasture raised meat, eggs, and dairy.
22. limit your oil intake to coconut oil for cooking and dressing, olive oil for dressing, and grass-fed butter. Meat should be limited to grass-fed beef and lamb, pasture-raised pork and poultry and wild-caught fish.
23. experiment with extremely healthy foods like miso soup, kale, cruciferous vegetables, tempeh, nuts, and seeds.
24. I eat a sardine sandwich and tuna sandwich almost every day for lunch. Any time I'm running low on Ezekiel bread, spinach, hummus, or fish, I restock so that I'm never more than a few minutes away from a healthy meal.
25. The goal with good sleep is to get as much sleep as your body wants, probably around 8 hours on average, and to wake up without an alarm clock.
26. The first step towards a good sleep habit is creating a good sleep environment. The key components of a good sleep environment are complete darkness and silence.
27. The tipping point for me was reading the excellent book, the Willpower Instinct, which said that the two best practices for increasing willpower were working out and meditating every day.
28. There are a lot of purported benefits of meditation, all of which I'm sure are experienced by one person or another, but the most significant benefit I've derived is better impulse control.
29. Every day, just sit for five minutes in a quiet space, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. For the first minute or two, it can help to subvocalize, “breathe in.... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out...” Such a simple task is enough to keep your mind focused.
30. Your overriding goal is just to sit there for five minutes. Any time you do that, you have successfully meditated. When you notice that your mind starts thinking about something else, refocus on your breath.
31. The most tangible benefit I noticed from meditation was that it created a space in between feeling an impulse and acting on it.
32. Work out three days a week, doing three exercises each day. Monday is deadlifts, pullups, and rows. Wednesday is bench press, incline bench press, and curls. Friday is squat or leg press, straight-leg deadlift, and cable crunches. Deadlifts of both varieties are two sets of 4-6 reps, pullups are three sets of 4-6, everything else is three sets of 8-12.
33. Shifting your diet to 30-40% protein, including a shake one hour before working out, will help.
34. Ideas don't exist in a vacuum, so whatever outside influences we're exposed to become a part of our creation process and affect our output.
35. Our brains are lazy and we're creatures of habit. That means that without conscious effort, we will only do what is comfortable and familiar.
36. By making desirable behaviors comfortable and familiar, we can change them from being cumbersome and mentally taxing to comfortable and easy.
37. I noticed that having a clean and uncluttered living and working space makes it easier to think, helps keep my stress levels low, and improves my mood.
38. The essential habit of becoming a minimalist is the habit of regularly evaluating how your possessions either add to or detract from the conscious life you're living and then getting rid of those things that are burdensome.
39. Twice, then Quit is very simple. When you want to quit working for the first time, don't. Push through and work some more. The second time you want to quit, also don't quit. Push through again. The third time you want to quit, go ahead and quit. This habit is deceptively simple, but is very effective.
40. To truly exceed our normal capabilities, we must learn to use that willpower as efficiently as possible. To do that, we habitualize as much as possible, taking actions that previously consumed willpower and making them automatic.
A good and easy to read book.
November 20, 2018
There are some golden nuggets of advice to be found here... but brace yourself for the bouts of ‘teaching grandma to suck eggs’ peppered all over:)
February 16, 2017
This book is loaded with practical advice. The most dense book in terms of value delivered per word written. Even though its small, it encompasses everything to put one on a path to a well managed life. Highly recommended!
January 7, 2017
Okay, that's a good beginning. First habit to implement back to my life after dark period - reading everyday. I even don't have to get out of bed which is nice. :D
February 6, 2017
For those of us well-versed in the genre of personal-development, there's nothing new here. This is one of the many good books about habits to have come out after 2010, written with verified scientific approaches in mind. So why read this book? Two reasons:
1) The writing is superb, and clear. The book's also not very long, which means that you'll gobble it up in no time -- kind of like eating a really filling meal, but only for your mind. The value to time investment ratio is just too good to pass up. This is also an especially a good book to use as a recommendation to anyone interested in habits.
2) I'm a huge believer in practicing what you preach when it comes to authors, and Tynan doesn't disappoint. We all know what we want to get accomplished when it comes to our own goals, but we rarely look beyond that, and thus overlook other habits that might potentially help us along the way. Well, about half the book is filled with the author's own personal habits, why he does them, and how to go about implementing something similar, with the goal to inspire the reader. This is very much appreciated, as authors will often write about their subject matter without delving into it personally. Tynan clearly talks the talk, and walks the walk.
1) The writing is superb, and clear. The book's also not very long, which means that you'll gobble it up in no time -- kind of like eating a really filling meal, but only for your mind. The value to time investment ratio is just too good to pass up. This is also an especially a good book to use as a recommendation to anyone interested in habits.
2) I'm a huge believer in practicing what you preach when it comes to authors, and Tynan doesn't disappoint. We all know what we want to get accomplished when it comes to our own goals, but we rarely look beyond that, and thus overlook other habits that might potentially help us along the way. Well, about half the book is filled with the author's own personal habits, why he does them, and how to go about implementing something similar, with the goal to inspire the reader. This is very much appreciated, as authors will often write about their subject matter without delving into it personally. Tynan clearly talks the talk, and walks the walk.
January 19, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. SUBCONSCIOUS:
- The vast majority of our daily actions are actually dictated by our subconscious through habits.
2. HABIT SUICIDE:
- Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide.
3. RESULTS:
- Focusing on results, especially short term results, is an excellent way to add stress to your life.
- That could lead to you quitting the habit associated with that stress, thus ensuring no long term results are ever achieved.
- Track your adherence to the process, not your results.
4. GREATNESS:
- They repeatedly improved their craft, took responsibility for their own success, identified their own weaknesses, and turned them into strengths.
- That's the process by which greatness is developed.
5. SUBTRACT:
- Through subtracting I got myself to add.
1. SUBCONSCIOUS:
- The vast majority of our daily actions are actually dictated by our subconscious through habits.
2. HABIT SUICIDE:
- Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide.
3. RESULTS:
- Focusing on results, especially short term results, is an excellent way to add stress to your life.
- That could lead to you quitting the habit associated with that stress, thus ensuring no long term results are ever achieved.
- Track your adherence to the process, not your results.
4. GREATNESS:
- They repeatedly improved their craft, took responsibility for their own success, identified their own weaknesses, and turned them into strengths.
- That's the process by which greatness is developed.
5. SUBTRACT:
- Through subtracting I got myself to add.
January 26, 2018
This book is a life saver for procrastinators, it is a very practical book accompanied with a generic idea of habits that one should ideally implement to make life better. The methods mentioned in the book are tried and tested, I have also read the same methods in multiple articles, all over. In fact, I have also implemented some of these habits. Change is good. Go ahead and read this book, it won’t disappoint you.
February 21, 2018
My Review (Superhuman by habit)
I understand, in this era of social media where troll/meme pages glorify laziness and procrastination, how difficult it is for the most of youth to build a new healthy habit. Really, I do understand.
This book is the solution.
The book is a short one with only 101 pages.
Superhuman by habit is a 10/10 for me. Recommended to everyone who wants to know how to create new habits smoothly.
P.S. This is my book summary of "Superhuman by habit". These points could be direct quotes from the book, and/or my thoughts and interpretation of those lines. Importantly, this write-up is dedicated to the key points from this book.
First of all, what's a habit?
A habit is an action that you take on a repeated basis with little or no required effort or thought. The power of habit lies in the second part of the definition- the bit about no required effort or thought.
Here are the top lessons from this book-
1. "Twice, then quit." The first time you want to quit your habit, do not. Push it through and do it anyway. The second time you want to quit, again don't. Push it through once more. The third time you want to quit, you can stop.
2. Plan for a variance. If you have a habit of going to the gym daily. But you can't go to the gym while travelling. So, you need to plan for a variance. Instead, you can plan on doing push-ups or crunches during the day.
3. You can do any task if you break down it into smaller habits. I have decided to read 100 books in 2018. I have made a habit of reading daily before going to sleep, and I have already read 11+ books in 2018 so far.
4. Do not skip any habit twice. Skipping twice means you have to start with the habit all over. Also, don't blame your situations or surroundings for your failure of habit, blame yourself and you'd easily improve then. That being said, be ready for failures.
5. There are two types of people: those who can add any new habits easily, and those who can eliminate the old bad habits easily. Like, some people may find it easy to add healthy food articles in their diet, and some people can find it easier to stop eating junk.
6. Do a terrible job for the sake of creating a habit. When I decided to write daily, I knew I wouldn't be writing quality content always. I write at least 1 answer on Quora daily, anyway. I write regularly. For starters, regularity is more important than the quality.
7. If you want to discard a bad habit, you first have to acknowledge it. Plan out why do you want to eliminate that habit, and then plan out the good habit that has to fill the void here.
8. Remember that everyone is just trying to do their best and be happy. Just like you. This particular point can help you stop complaining in life, and makes you a more understanding human being.
9. Take pride in the process, not in the results. Everybody seems to be planning for a definite goal; instead, try planning for a smooth start. Remember, well begun is half done.
Some recommended good habits you may like to follow-
#Eat Healthy.
#Workout regularly.
#Have a sound sleep in a dark space.
#Meditation.
#Reading books.
#Dance, Writing, Painting to create something.
#Travel to widen your perspective.
#Analysis of your day: how much time you wasted, what goals did you accomplish etc.
#Use of calendar more wisely. Put every event on your calendar.
#Imperfect cleaning: where you get your home or workspace to a 9/10 cleanliness, but don't worry about perfection.
---
Complete book summary at- https://www.dipanshurawal.com/superhu...
I understand, in this era of social media where troll/meme pages glorify laziness and procrastination, how difficult it is for the most of youth to build a new healthy habit. Really, I do understand.
This book is the solution.
The book is a short one with only 101 pages.
Superhuman by habit is a 10/10 for me. Recommended to everyone who wants to know how to create new habits smoothly.
P.S. This is my book summary of "Superhuman by habit". These points could be direct quotes from the book, and/or my thoughts and interpretation of those lines. Importantly, this write-up is dedicated to the key points from this book.
First of all, what's a habit?
A habit is an action that you take on a repeated basis with little or no required effort or thought. The power of habit lies in the second part of the definition- the bit about no required effort or thought.
Here are the top lessons from this book-
1. "Twice, then quit." The first time you want to quit your habit, do not. Push it through and do it anyway. The second time you want to quit, again don't. Push it through once more. The third time you want to quit, you can stop.
2. Plan for a variance. If you have a habit of going to the gym daily. But you can't go to the gym while travelling. So, you need to plan for a variance. Instead, you can plan on doing push-ups or crunches during the day.
3. You can do any task if you break down it into smaller habits. I have decided to read 100 books in 2018. I have made a habit of reading daily before going to sleep, and I have already read 11+ books in 2018 so far.
4. Do not skip any habit twice. Skipping twice means you have to start with the habit all over. Also, don't blame your situations or surroundings for your failure of habit, blame yourself and you'd easily improve then. That being said, be ready for failures.
5. There are two types of people: those who can add any new habits easily, and those who can eliminate the old bad habits easily. Like, some people may find it easy to add healthy food articles in their diet, and some people can find it easier to stop eating junk.
6. Do a terrible job for the sake of creating a habit. When I decided to write daily, I knew I wouldn't be writing quality content always. I write at least 1 answer on Quora daily, anyway. I write regularly. For starters, regularity is more important than the quality.
7. If you want to discard a bad habit, you first have to acknowledge it. Plan out why do you want to eliminate that habit, and then plan out the good habit that has to fill the void here.
8. Remember that everyone is just trying to do their best and be happy. Just like you. This particular point can help you stop complaining in life, and makes you a more understanding human being.
9. Take pride in the process, not in the results. Everybody seems to be planning for a definite goal; instead, try planning for a smooth start. Remember, well begun is half done.
Some recommended good habits you may like to follow-
#Eat Healthy.
#Workout regularly.
#Have a sound sleep in a dark space.
#Meditation.
#Reading books.
#Dance, Writing, Painting to create something.
#Travel to widen your perspective.
#Analysis of your day: how much time you wasted, what goals did you accomplish etc.
#Use of calendar more wisely. Put every event on your calendar.
#Imperfect cleaning: where you get your home or workspace to a 9/10 cleanliness, but don't worry about perfection.
---
Complete book summary at- https://www.dipanshurawal.com/superhu...
February 20, 2017
A long but informative blog post.
June 26, 2021
Пашем Пашем Пашем
Нет супер таблетки (
а так, конечно, я люблю почитать о том, как важно иметь привычку пить чашку свежезаваренного чая ( конечно не из пакета) и тайно завидовать тем людям, которые имеют правильные привычки.
Зато узнала, что я отношусь к типу людей, которым легче отказаться от чего-то, чем завести новую привычку.
Нет супер таблетки (
а так, конечно, я люблю почитать о том, как важно иметь привычку пить чашку свежезаваренного чая ( конечно не из пакета) и тайно завидовать тем людям, которые имеют правильные привычки.
Зато узнала, что я отношусь к типу людей, которым легче отказаться от чего-то, чем завести новую привычку.
September 4, 2023
Mini Book on Habits building
It's a tiny and simple book. Talks about why and how to build habits? It has specific examples author has implemented himself with pros and cons for each habits. Good starting point to start with new habits.
It's a tiny and simple book. Talks about why and how to build habits? It has specific examples author has implemented himself with pros and cons for each habits. Good starting point to start with new habits.
July 27, 2021
الكتاب يحتوي على نصائح عملية لتكوين العادات
- بس الكتاب بسيط جداً لدرجة السطحية للأسف
- بس الكتاب بسيط جداً لدرجة السطحية للأسف
August 6, 2023
Build positive habits to become a superhuman you.
If you were to get dumped in a barrel of toxic waste and gain a superpower, what would it be? Colossal strength so you could reroute enemy missiles? Invisibility so you could be a fly on the wall? Or maybe you’d prefer the actual power of flight?
Superpowers seem awesome. But sadly, they only exist on TV … right?
Well, what if we told you there’s a superpower you can access without having to swim in toxic waste or be born into an extraterrestrial species? We’re talking about the power of habits.
In this book, you’ll uncover some easy tips and tricks on how to choose and build habits – and become a superhuman version of yourself.
-
The power of habits
Do you automatically brush your teeth right before bed? Or instinctively grab your phone moments after opening your eyes in the morning? Do you check your emails as soon as your computer boots up? If you’re nodding along, then you already know how powerful habits can be.
Habits are actions that are almost involuntary. You just do them without second thought or too much effort – no need for constant reminders. That’s why habits are like superpowers. You get things done without exhausting your physical and mental energy reserves.
Although you might not be aware of it, you’ve already built a bunch of habits. The catch, though, is that not all your habits align with your best interests. Some could even be leading you astray, pulling you further from your goals. That’s why building new and positive habits is a must if you want to unleash your hidden potential and see yourself grow.
But beyond self-improvement, there’s another reason why habit-building is so important. Your willpower – the fuel that helps you perform certain actions you think are good for you – is limited. It can only get you so far, and is rarely enough to help you reach your goals.
The good news is that habits don’t rely on willpower. With habits, difficult actions eventually become easy because they’re automatic – you don’t have to force yourself to do anything. And the more positive habits you have, the bigger strides you can make toward your goals without depleting your willpower reserves.
In fact, the hardest part is choosing a new, positive habit and implementing it. But that’s exactly what we’re about to cover, so stay tuned.
-
How to choose habits
Building new habits is like cooking. Before you turn on the stove, you need to pick out your ingredients. Similarly, before you can start implementing your habits, you need to determine what they are.
Choosing a habit is the first step in your self-improvement journey. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of positive habits you can borrow from others – from the money habits of self-made billionaires to the reading habits of your professors and mentors. But while copying successful people’s favorite habits can work in some cases, you should ultimately identify and build habits that are unique to you. There are several ways to do this.
One is to get inspiration from your weaknesses. If you know you’re not performing at the top of your game or need to improve in a specific area, you can build a habit to address your weakness. For this to work, you need to be brutally honest with yourself and admit that you’re not the best at everything. Only then can you effectively pinpoint what habits to create.
Another way to get inspired is to consider your priorities. Is living a healthier lifestyle important to you? Then you’ll need to build habits that propel you toward that goal.
Finding something you’re really motivated to do is also a valid approach to choosing a habit. Building habits is no easy feat; it requires a significant amount of drive and determination. You can make things easier for yourself by choosing a habit that sparks a fire within you.
If you’re still having a hard time settling on a habit, try looking at things you don’t necessarily think you want to do. Say you’re a ballet dancer. You could choose a habit of writing to expand your skill set and increase your versatility.
Whatever habit you end up choosing, make sure it’s something you can do every day. Daily habits are easier to do for three reasons: First, you won’t have to draw up complicated weekly or monthly schedules because the habit is embedded in your everyday tasks. Second, you’re more likely to do it because it’s small and quick. And third, unlike weekly habits that you can push back a day, you can’t reschedule a daily habit – that would mean skipping a day.
And you don’t want that. Because when it comes to building habits, skipping can lead to failure – which we’ll explore in the next section.
-
How to build habits
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither are habits. Creating habits that give you superhuman powers will take more than an overnight effort, so prepare yourself for the long haul. But how exactly do you build a habit, and what can you do to help yourself stick with it?
The first thing to grasp about building habits is that at the heart of every habit lies a trigger – an action or situation that prompts you to engage in your habitual behavior. Take brushing your teeth, for example. Its triggers are waking up in the morning or getting ready for bed at night. The goal is to align your habit with a trigger so that it becomes an automatic response.
Without triggers, you’d need to rely on your mood to determine whether to perform a habit on any given day. And, as we all know, that’s a pretty unreliable method. To propel you on your journey, it’s crucial to choose a specific trigger as soon as you’ve decided on what habit to build.
That trigger might already be present in your life, such as getting home from work or finishing your coffee. You can also use any existing good habits as the triggers for your new ones. Do you drink a cup of green tea every morning? Use that as a trigger for your new meditation habit afterward.
When building habits, also keep in mind that it’s a long-term process. Making a habit automatic typically takes at least a month – and often a whole year. This process involves two stages: loading and maintenance. In the loading stage, you use up your willpower to form your habit. Here, you go all out – and then keep going. No excuses or skips.
When you feel like you’ve mastered the habit, you can move on to the maintenance stage. This is where you can relax your habit a little bit. Say you’ve been working out every day during your loading stage. In the maintenance stage, you can reduce it to every other day. That’s the maintenance habit you’ll stick to for the rest of your life.
Because building habits is a gradual process, you probably won’t see results right away. It’s highly unlikely you’ll have a sculpted body after a week of working out or an awe-inspiring poem after two days of practicing your writing skills. That’s why you shouldn’t measure your progress on results. Instead, focus on consistency. How many times did you successfully perform the habit? How many times did you skip? Those are the important questions here.
And if you do fail, give yourself some grace. It’s alright to make mistakes, skip a day, and give up on a habit altogether. But don’t let those mistakes stop you from trying to build another habit again. Instead, leverage them, learn from them, and do better the next time around.
-
Health habits
Tired of being a couch potato or a junk food hoarder? Want to hit the hay at the right time? Fed up with having the energy of a deflated balloon? In that case, it’s high time you adopted some healthy habits.
Let’s start with eating healthy foods. Good food comes with a boatload of benefits. Not only will you enjoy a longer lifespan and higher quality of life, but you’ll also have more motivation to build other positive habits. To start your habit of eating healthy, avoid getting caught up with fancy diet plans. Instead, focus on removing just a few harmful ingredients from your daily meals, like refined sugars and processed carbohydrates, and swapping them with healthier alternatives. It can also help to plan your meals, so your fridge is packed with nutritious ingredients when you get hungry.
Just like with good nutrition, getting good sleep is also a game changer for your health. When you’re properly rested, you’ll be less stressed and more ready to take on the day. As much as possible, shoot for roughly eight hours of sleep – and try to wake up on your own without an alarm. The habit of good sleep starts with establishing a regular bedtime. This should begin about nine hours before you need to wake up, so you have time to wind down your thoughts and actually fall asleep on time. To support this process, avoid electronic screens for at least an hour before your bedtime. They’re notorious for messing up sleep schedules.
On top of healthy foods and good sleep, working out is also great for your health. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most difficult habits to start. But if you’re not already an active person, that’s all the more reason to prioritize building this habit! Working out not only boosts your confidence, strength, and coordination, but also your brainpower.
Fitocracy cofounder Dick Talens recommends doing three exercises a day for three days every week. On Mondays, do deadlifts, rows, and pull-ups. On Wednesdays, do curls, bench press, and incline bench press. And on Fridays, do cable crunches, squats, and straight-leg deadlifts.
If you’re not seeing the results you want, just hang in there for three to eight weeks before switching to a new program. Remember, habit-building is all about the process – not the results.
-
Organization habits
Ever come home to a cluttered living space strewn with dirty laundry and scattered papers? Did you look around happily, or immediately sink into a sour mood? A physical mess often leads to a mental mess, which is why building organization habits is essential.
One of the top organization habits you can get started on is daily imperfect cleaning. Yes, that’s right: imperfect! Maintaining a state of utmost cleanliness usually requires a Herculean effort – and, let’s be honest, who has the time or energy for that? Instead of targeting perfection, settle on a more realistic level of tidiness that’s easier to achieve. Then, twice a day, clean just a little to maintain that level.
To make your cleaning routine easier and your mind calmer, you can also build the habit of decluttering. Every weekend, spend an hour or two rounding up things you haven’t used in the past six to twelve months – and then make sure to get rid of them that same day. You can sell your electronics on Amazon or post your big appliances or furniture on sites like Craigslist. Once you’ve cleared out the obvious clutter, you can free up your weekends and just trigger your habit whenever you spot new, unused items creeping into your space.
Finally, it’s important to build a habit of staying organized in the digital space – specifically, your inbox. If your day-to-day involves communicating with a lot of people, chances are you’ve forgotten to reply to an important email at least once. Maybe you read the message, but just didn’t have the right mindset or time to send a thoughtful response. To prevent this from happening again, build the habit of flagging or starring emails as soon as they pop up in your inbox. That way, you won’t be pressured to reply immediately and can easily return to those important emails when you’re ready.
-
Productivity habits
Say you have an important report that’s due today. But after typing two words into your document, you’re scrolling away on social media. You’re eager to get your work done, but you’re just not feeling very productive at the moment.
That’s where productivity habits come into the picture. There are lots of effective strategies to build productivity habits, but we’ll focus on just two here.
Counterintuitively, the first one starts before you even sit down to be productive. If you’ve ever procrastinated before, you’ll know that most of your precious time is lost while you’re avoiding the work you need to do – not while you’re actually doing it. This is especially true for people who don’t have a fixed work schedule. Instead of diving into the task at hand, they might go down the social media rabbit hole for hours on end. To avoid procrastinating in the first place, get into the habit of starting your work earlier in the day. This will kickstart your productivity momentum. Opt for an early morning task that’s important and high-value, so you won’t put it off.
The Twice, Then Quit productivity strategy might also do you good. The gist of this technique is simple: When you find yourself tempted to pause your work, don’t quit. Work through it until you’re tempted to quit a second time. Then, challenge yourself to push forward again. Finally, when the third temptation to quit strikes, you can gracefully bow out. This way, you'll accomplish more yet still have the freedom to call it a day because you've put in a solid effort.
-
Habits give you the superpower to accomplish everyday tasks without depleting your willpower. To begin your habit-building journey, first decide on what habit to commit to. This can either be something close to your heart, an activity that ignites your inner motivation, or an area of weakness in need of improvement. From there, pick a trigger to serve as your habit’s call to action.
Whatever your habit is, remember that consistency is key. Keep at it, and try not to be discouraged by a lack of immediate results. Habit-building is a long-term journey, not a single-day expedition – eventually, you’re guaranteed to reap the rewards.
If you were to get dumped in a barrel of toxic waste and gain a superpower, what would it be? Colossal strength so you could reroute enemy missiles? Invisibility so you could be a fly on the wall? Or maybe you’d prefer the actual power of flight?
Superpowers seem awesome. But sadly, they only exist on TV … right?
Well, what if we told you there’s a superpower you can access without having to swim in toxic waste or be born into an extraterrestrial species? We’re talking about the power of habits.
In this book, you’ll uncover some easy tips and tricks on how to choose and build habits – and become a superhuman version of yourself.
-
The power of habits
Do you automatically brush your teeth right before bed? Or instinctively grab your phone moments after opening your eyes in the morning? Do you check your emails as soon as your computer boots up? If you’re nodding along, then you already know how powerful habits can be.
Habits are actions that are almost involuntary. You just do them without second thought or too much effort – no need for constant reminders. That’s why habits are like superpowers. You get things done without exhausting your physical and mental energy reserves.
Although you might not be aware of it, you’ve already built a bunch of habits. The catch, though, is that not all your habits align with your best interests. Some could even be leading you astray, pulling you further from your goals. That’s why building new and positive habits is a must if you want to unleash your hidden potential and see yourself grow.
But beyond self-improvement, there’s another reason why habit-building is so important. Your willpower – the fuel that helps you perform certain actions you think are good for you – is limited. It can only get you so far, and is rarely enough to help you reach your goals.
The good news is that habits don’t rely on willpower. With habits, difficult actions eventually become easy because they’re automatic – you don’t have to force yourself to do anything. And the more positive habits you have, the bigger strides you can make toward your goals without depleting your willpower reserves.
In fact, the hardest part is choosing a new, positive habit and implementing it. But that’s exactly what we’re about to cover, so stay tuned.
-
How to choose habits
Building new habits is like cooking. Before you turn on the stove, you need to pick out your ingredients. Similarly, before you can start implementing your habits, you need to determine what they are.
Choosing a habit is the first step in your self-improvement journey. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of positive habits you can borrow from others – from the money habits of self-made billionaires to the reading habits of your professors and mentors. But while copying successful people’s favorite habits can work in some cases, you should ultimately identify and build habits that are unique to you. There are several ways to do this.
One is to get inspiration from your weaknesses. If you know you’re not performing at the top of your game or need to improve in a specific area, you can build a habit to address your weakness. For this to work, you need to be brutally honest with yourself and admit that you’re not the best at everything. Only then can you effectively pinpoint what habits to create.
Another way to get inspired is to consider your priorities. Is living a healthier lifestyle important to you? Then you’ll need to build habits that propel you toward that goal.
Finding something you’re really motivated to do is also a valid approach to choosing a habit. Building habits is no easy feat; it requires a significant amount of drive and determination. You can make things easier for yourself by choosing a habit that sparks a fire within you.
If you’re still having a hard time settling on a habit, try looking at things you don’t necessarily think you want to do. Say you’re a ballet dancer. You could choose a habit of writing to expand your skill set and increase your versatility.
Whatever habit you end up choosing, make sure it’s something you can do every day. Daily habits are easier to do for three reasons: First, you won’t have to draw up complicated weekly or monthly schedules because the habit is embedded in your everyday tasks. Second, you’re more likely to do it because it’s small and quick. And third, unlike weekly habits that you can push back a day, you can’t reschedule a daily habit – that would mean skipping a day.
And you don’t want that. Because when it comes to building habits, skipping can lead to failure – which we’ll explore in the next section.
-
How to build habits
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither are habits. Creating habits that give you superhuman powers will take more than an overnight effort, so prepare yourself for the long haul. But how exactly do you build a habit, and what can you do to help yourself stick with it?
The first thing to grasp about building habits is that at the heart of every habit lies a trigger – an action or situation that prompts you to engage in your habitual behavior. Take brushing your teeth, for example. Its triggers are waking up in the morning or getting ready for bed at night. The goal is to align your habit with a trigger so that it becomes an automatic response.
Without triggers, you’d need to rely on your mood to determine whether to perform a habit on any given day. And, as we all know, that’s a pretty unreliable method. To propel you on your journey, it’s crucial to choose a specific trigger as soon as you’ve decided on what habit to build.
That trigger might already be present in your life, such as getting home from work or finishing your coffee. You can also use any existing good habits as the triggers for your new ones. Do you drink a cup of green tea every morning? Use that as a trigger for your new meditation habit afterward.
When building habits, also keep in mind that it’s a long-term process. Making a habit automatic typically takes at least a month – and often a whole year. This process involves two stages: loading and maintenance. In the loading stage, you use up your willpower to form your habit. Here, you go all out – and then keep going. No excuses or skips.
When you feel like you’ve mastered the habit, you can move on to the maintenance stage. This is where you can relax your habit a little bit. Say you’ve been working out every day during your loading stage. In the maintenance stage, you can reduce it to every other day. That’s the maintenance habit you’ll stick to for the rest of your life.
Because building habits is a gradual process, you probably won’t see results right away. It’s highly unlikely you’ll have a sculpted body after a week of working out or an awe-inspiring poem after two days of practicing your writing skills. That’s why you shouldn’t measure your progress on results. Instead, focus on consistency. How many times did you successfully perform the habit? How many times did you skip? Those are the important questions here.
And if you do fail, give yourself some grace. It’s alright to make mistakes, skip a day, and give up on a habit altogether. But don’t let those mistakes stop you from trying to build another habit again. Instead, leverage them, learn from them, and do better the next time around.
-
Health habits
Tired of being a couch potato or a junk food hoarder? Want to hit the hay at the right time? Fed up with having the energy of a deflated balloon? In that case, it’s high time you adopted some healthy habits.
Let’s start with eating healthy foods. Good food comes with a boatload of benefits. Not only will you enjoy a longer lifespan and higher quality of life, but you’ll also have more motivation to build other positive habits. To start your habit of eating healthy, avoid getting caught up with fancy diet plans. Instead, focus on removing just a few harmful ingredients from your daily meals, like refined sugars and processed carbohydrates, and swapping them with healthier alternatives. It can also help to plan your meals, so your fridge is packed with nutritious ingredients when you get hungry.
Just like with good nutrition, getting good sleep is also a game changer for your health. When you’re properly rested, you’ll be less stressed and more ready to take on the day. As much as possible, shoot for roughly eight hours of sleep – and try to wake up on your own without an alarm. The habit of good sleep starts with establishing a regular bedtime. This should begin about nine hours before you need to wake up, so you have time to wind down your thoughts and actually fall asleep on time. To support this process, avoid electronic screens for at least an hour before your bedtime. They’re notorious for messing up sleep schedules.
On top of healthy foods and good sleep, working out is also great for your health. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most difficult habits to start. But if you’re not already an active person, that’s all the more reason to prioritize building this habit! Working out not only boosts your confidence, strength, and coordination, but also your brainpower.
Fitocracy cofounder Dick Talens recommends doing three exercises a day for three days every week. On Mondays, do deadlifts, rows, and pull-ups. On Wednesdays, do curls, bench press, and incline bench press. And on Fridays, do cable crunches, squats, and straight-leg deadlifts.
If you’re not seeing the results you want, just hang in there for three to eight weeks before switching to a new program. Remember, habit-building is all about the process – not the results.
-
Organization habits
Ever come home to a cluttered living space strewn with dirty laundry and scattered papers? Did you look around happily, or immediately sink into a sour mood? A physical mess often leads to a mental mess, which is why building organization habits is essential.
One of the top organization habits you can get started on is daily imperfect cleaning. Yes, that’s right: imperfect! Maintaining a state of utmost cleanliness usually requires a Herculean effort – and, let’s be honest, who has the time or energy for that? Instead of targeting perfection, settle on a more realistic level of tidiness that’s easier to achieve. Then, twice a day, clean just a little to maintain that level.
To make your cleaning routine easier and your mind calmer, you can also build the habit of decluttering. Every weekend, spend an hour or two rounding up things you haven’t used in the past six to twelve months – and then make sure to get rid of them that same day. You can sell your electronics on Amazon or post your big appliances or furniture on sites like Craigslist. Once you’ve cleared out the obvious clutter, you can free up your weekends and just trigger your habit whenever you spot new, unused items creeping into your space.
Finally, it’s important to build a habit of staying organized in the digital space – specifically, your inbox. If your day-to-day involves communicating with a lot of people, chances are you’ve forgotten to reply to an important email at least once. Maybe you read the message, but just didn’t have the right mindset or time to send a thoughtful response. To prevent this from happening again, build the habit of flagging or starring emails as soon as they pop up in your inbox. That way, you won’t be pressured to reply immediately and can easily return to those important emails when you’re ready.
-
Productivity habits
Say you have an important report that’s due today. But after typing two words into your document, you’re scrolling away on social media. You’re eager to get your work done, but you’re just not feeling very productive at the moment.
That’s where productivity habits come into the picture. There are lots of effective strategies to build productivity habits, but we’ll focus on just two here.
Counterintuitively, the first one starts before you even sit down to be productive. If you’ve ever procrastinated before, you’ll know that most of your precious time is lost while you’re avoiding the work you need to do – not while you’re actually doing it. This is especially true for people who don’t have a fixed work schedule. Instead of diving into the task at hand, they might go down the social media rabbit hole for hours on end. To avoid procrastinating in the first place, get into the habit of starting your work earlier in the day. This will kickstart your productivity momentum. Opt for an early morning task that’s important and high-value, so you won’t put it off.
The Twice, Then Quit productivity strategy might also do you good. The gist of this technique is simple: When you find yourself tempted to pause your work, don’t quit. Work through it until you’re tempted to quit a second time. Then, challenge yourself to push forward again. Finally, when the third temptation to quit strikes, you can gracefully bow out. This way, you'll accomplish more yet still have the freedom to call it a day because you've put in a solid effort.
-
Habits give you the superpower to accomplish everyday tasks without depleting your willpower. To begin your habit-building journey, first decide on what habit to commit to. This can either be something close to your heart, an activity that ignites your inner motivation, or an area of weakness in need of improvement. From there, pick a trigger to serve as your habit’s call to action.
Whatever your habit is, remember that consistency is key. Keep at it, and try not to be discouraged by a lack of immediate results. Habit-building is a long-term journey, not a single-day expedition – eventually, you’re guaranteed to reap the rewards.
April 18, 2020
2016.01.27–2016.01.27
An OK, quick book that I could listen to again for motivation and maybe some missed ideas. But on the current Goodreads-description's last chapter,
["Superhuman by Habit examines habit building in depth. It covers the principles and philosophies of habit building, as well as the practical nuts and bolts implementing those habits. The second half of the book is dedicated to specific habits in every major area of life, covering the pros and cons of each, the path to implementing them, and specific notes about each one."],
I have to comment that
1. I wouldn't say habit building gets examined in depth, as there's no research,
2. nor does it feel like covering the (whole?) surface of the principles and philosophies of habit building, but rather
3. it's mostly a skim of what has worked for Tynan (and friends) regarding specific habits under [positivity, health, expansion, organization, socializing, and productivity].
Bottom line: call me nitpicking, but I find this falling short of superhumanity (:P) because there's little or no exploration of [rationality/cognition; creativity/problem-solving; dealing with conflicting values; internalizing ethical/moral standards; nor scientific research on learning/neuroplasticity]. Still, I'd return to it in some situation, and maybe complement it with a re-listen of The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking.
Contents
Tynan (2014) (02:10) Superhuman by Habit - A Guide to Becoming the Best Possible Version of Yourself, One Tiny Habit at a Time
1. Building Habits
• What is a habit, and why are habits so important?
• Don't Spend Your Willpower, Invest It
• You Already Have a Million Habits
• Good habits aren't more difficult to execute than bad habits, they're just harder to build
• New Habits vs. Old Habits
• Think Very Long Term
• Consistency Is Everything
• Absolutely Never Skip Twice
• Plan Variances
• You Just Go – Do a Terrible Job
• Don't Reward the Lazy Brain
• Skipped Habits Aren't Excused Habits
• Forgive and Focus
• Celebrating Success
• Take Pride in Process, Not in Results
2. Choosing Habits
• Being Honest
• How to Discover High Priority Habits
• It's Always Your Fault
• There's Nothing You Can't Do
• Addition Versus Subtraction
• Don't Overshoot
• Securing Your Motivation
• Discovering Motivation
• Start Easy and Often
• The Magic of Daily Habits
• Don't Build Habits That can be Automated
• Loading and Maintenance
• The Habit of Building Habits
• Triggering Habits
• Chaining Habits
• Accountability With Friends
• Habitualizing Input for Instant Change
• When to Quit Habits
• Beware of Disruptors
• The Natural Habitat of A Habit Builder
• Imposing Your Habits on Others
3. Practical Analysis of Various Habits
• Positivity Habits
• • Positivity Towards Yourself
• • Positivity Towards Others
• Health Habits
• • Eating Healthy Food
• • Good Sleep
• • Meditation
• • Drinking Tea Daily
• • Vitamin D
• • Working Out
• Expansion Habits
• • Traveling to Unusual Countries
• • Writing Daily
• • Seek Out Masterpieces
• • Pushing Your Comfort Zone
• Organization Habits
• • Daily Imperfect Cleaning
• • The Easy Habit to Stay On Top of Email
• • Keeping a Useful Calendar
• • Getting Rid of Stuff
• Social Habits
• • Always Be On Time
• • Delete or Contact
• Productivity Habits
• • Twice, Then Quit
• • Eliminate Starting Procrastination
• • Plan When Stuck
• • Rating Your Day
• Putting it All Together
An OK, quick book that I could listen to again for motivation and maybe some missed ideas. But on the current Goodreads-description's last chapter,
["Superhuman by Habit examines habit building in depth. It covers the principles and philosophies of habit building, as well as the practical nuts and bolts implementing those habits. The second half of the book is dedicated to specific habits in every major area of life, covering the pros and cons of each, the path to implementing them, and specific notes about each one."],
I have to comment that
1. I wouldn't say habit building gets examined in depth, as there's no research,
2. nor does it feel like covering the (whole?) surface of the principles and philosophies of habit building, but rather
3. it's mostly a skim of what has worked for Tynan (and friends) regarding specific habits under [positivity, health, expansion, organization, socializing, and productivity].
Bottom line: call me nitpicking, but I find this falling short of superhumanity (:P) because there's little or no exploration of [rationality/cognition; creativity/problem-solving; dealing with conflicting values; internalizing ethical/moral standards; nor scientific research on learning/neuroplasticity]. Still, I'd return to it in some situation, and maybe complement it with a re-listen of The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking.
Contents
Tynan (2014) (02:10) Superhuman by Habit - A Guide to Becoming the Best Possible Version of Yourself, One Tiny Habit at a Time
1. Building Habits
• What is a habit, and why are habits so important?
• Don't Spend Your Willpower, Invest It
• You Already Have a Million Habits
• Good habits aren't more difficult to execute than bad habits, they're just harder to build
• New Habits vs. Old Habits
• Think Very Long Term
• Consistency Is Everything
• Absolutely Never Skip Twice
• Plan Variances
• You Just Go – Do a Terrible Job
• Don't Reward the Lazy Brain
• Skipped Habits Aren't Excused Habits
• Forgive and Focus
• Celebrating Success
• Take Pride in Process, Not in Results
2. Choosing Habits
• Being Honest
• How to Discover High Priority Habits
• It's Always Your Fault
• There's Nothing You Can't Do
• Addition Versus Subtraction
• Don't Overshoot
• Securing Your Motivation
• Discovering Motivation
• Start Easy and Often
• The Magic of Daily Habits
• Don't Build Habits That can be Automated
• Loading and Maintenance
• The Habit of Building Habits
• Triggering Habits
• Chaining Habits
• Accountability With Friends
• Habitualizing Input for Instant Change
• When to Quit Habits
• Beware of Disruptors
• The Natural Habitat of A Habit Builder
• Imposing Your Habits on Others
3. Practical Analysis of Various Habits
• Positivity Habits
• • Positivity Towards Yourself
• • Positivity Towards Others
• Health Habits
• • Eating Healthy Food
• • Good Sleep
• • Meditation
• • Drinking Tea Daily
• • Vitamin D
• • Working Out
• Expansion Habits
• • Traveling to Unusual Countries
• • Writing Daily
• • Seek Out Masterpieces
• • Pushing Your Comfort Zone
• Organization Habits
• • Daily Imperfect Cleaning
• • The Easy Habit to Stay On Top of Email
• • Keeping a Useful Calendar
• • Getting Rid of Stuff
• Social Habits
• • Always Be On Time
• • Delete or Contact
• Productivity Habits
• • Twice, Then Quit
• • Eliminate Starting Procrastination
• • Plan When Stuck
• • Rating Your Day
• Putting it All Together
December 29, 2022
This was just okay. These types of books all seem to be written by young men who are into weightlifting and following restrictive diets. The author did have some good suggestions and I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but this book is sort of social science lite. I think there are a lot of other books out there that are both more practical and more science-based. I don't know why, but it also bugged me that there was no table of contents, no index, and only a few casual references to other books or studies in the text. I gave it three stars instead of two because there was a hint of vulnerability in some of his personal stories.
October 24, 2019
Ne znam koliko je realno dati nisku ocjenu ovoj knjizi samo zato jer sam većinu ovog znao. Kako? Pa čitajući druge knjige i surfajući po internetu. Ali to nije razlog da ne bih nekom preporučio ovu knjigu tko se odlučio na promjene ili uvođenje novih navika. Jednostavno je objašnjeno zašto i kako to svatko može uraditi i postati bolja osoba.
Knjiga je dosta kratka tako da se može pročitati za jednu večer ili dvije. Sigurno ćete, ukoliko niste kao ja već neke stvari znali, saznati mnoštvo zanimljivih činjenica koje će vam promijeniti svakodnevicu ako to poželite implementirati.
Ono što mi se sviđa je da je autor Tynan dosta sličan meni. Ni meni nitko od mojih prijatelja ili poznanika ne bi vjerovao da sam ovako odlučan da promijenim neke stvari u svom životu po čemu me mnogi identificiraju. Kao prvo, svima je čudno da ja uopće čitam knjige jer ih nisam volio ni u školi niti kasnije. A zašto ih nisam volio? Zato što nisam čitao ono što želim nego ono što mi je sustav govorio da trebam čitati. Tek sada kada čitam što želim, čitanje mi je doslovno najdraži hobi. Bez pretjerivanja. To je najbitnija navika koju sam ja uveo u svoj život zadnjih godina. A krenuo sam tako da sam čitao doslovno 10 minuta svaki dan uz štopericu na mobitelu. Kada bi ta štoperica zazvonila, spustio bih knjigu. Danas čitam koliko god mogu više i kada god mogu.
Ono što je zanimljivo iz ove knjige je to da shvatimo da sve što radimo je plod naših navika. Sad je samo bitno prepoznati kojih se trebamo riješiti, a koje trebamo uvesti da bi naš život bio skladniji i bliže onom što želimo od sebe.
Bitno je da napravimo naviku koje ćemo se moći držati umjesto da idemo u ekstreme pa se umorimo nakon kraćeg vremena.
- it's better to maintain a modest life-long habit than to start an extreme habit that can't be sustained for a single year.
- So make your habits relatively easy, but never miss doing them.
Čuvaj se izlika jer ljudski mozak je maher u smišljanju istih.
- So if you say to yourself, “Okay, I'm not going to meditate tonight because I'm just too tired,” a part of you may challenge, “Even though I am tired, maybe I can just get through it.”
- We are all creative enough to come up with “good reasons” for not doing something that we don't feel like doing.
Ako preskočiš dva dana neku naviku koju pokušavaš uvesti, to je već propalo. Onda ide treći dan gdje kažeš ma sad je svejedno. Zato budi ustrajan i ne popuštaj.
- Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide.
Ako ti se ne da učiti njemački na Duolingu danas, a znaš da si rekao da ćeš svaki dan učiti bar 10 minuta onda se natjeraj da prođeš kroz lekciju kako god. Koliko god loše to odradio. Samo nemoj preskočiti. Ovo sam radio stvarno često na Duolingu.
- Do it perfectly if you can, but do it terribly if that's all you can handle. Just make sure that you do it.
- Remember that the power of a habit isn't actually in the individual execution, but in the consistency. It is far far worse to skip doing something than to just do a horrible job of it.
Za sve budi ti odgovoran. Ako je nešto loše, ti si odgovoran. Šta god. Znaš zašto? Zato jer onda ti imaš i moć da to promijeniš.
- Not happy? Assume that it is your fault. Not in shape? Assume that it is your fault. Not as wealthy as you'd like to be? Assume that it is your fault. Don't have as many friends as you'd like, get sick frequently, or live in a messy house? All your fault. Not everything is actually your fault, but by assuming it is, you give yourself an opportunity to take responsibility for the future by coming up with a plan to change things.
Uvijek sam mislio da su drugi bolji i sposobniji te da su oni koji su uspjeli totalno drugi ljudi, ali nisu. Čak šta više, to su obični ljudi koji su ustrajali u svojim željama. Ništa bolji niti sposobniji od tebe.
- I've been friends with some of the most successful musicians of my generation, some of the most successful socializers, and some of the most successful businesspeople. In every single case I've been awed by one thing- how normal they were.
Treba automatizirati sve što je moguće na taj način završiti. Ne opterećivati mozak s nekim sitnicama koje mogu biti lagano riješene.
-Saving a minute or two here and there isn't a big deal, but the cumulative benefit of removing things from that mental todo list is big.
Motivacija je bitna za mijenjanje ili uvođenje navika. Kako? Pa tako što ako pročitaš knjigu o štetnosti pržene hrane ili coca-cole, razviti ćeš neku odbojnost prema toj hrani toliko da ćeš je maksimalno izbjegavati. Nešto što bez ovakve motivacije postane teško kada dođeš u napast da takve stvari konzumiraš, a jedina motivacija protiv ti je npr. da ti je netko rekao da si se udebljao. Motivacija mora imati jake temelje da bi navika bila uspješna.
- Acquiring this new knowledge created a quantum shift in my beliefs regarding my habits. My triggers changed. Unhealthy food no longer prompted a desire for the hedonistic pleasure of consumption, but instead sparked a revulsion towards the path my life might follow if I ate that food.
I danas imam prijatelje i članove obitelji koji mi se smiju kada kažem da neke stvari ne želim jesti ili piti. Doslovno te ljudi ismiju jer činiš pravu stvar i paziš na zdravlje. A da ne govorim koja je to samokontrola koja umjesto ruganja treba dobiti ogromno poštovanje zbog predanosti.
- Last, negative friends can be a huge hindrance to building positive habits. Often times friends see a friend, who was previously very similar to them and is now making changes, as a threat.
Negativne i loše misli su jedna od navika koje se ne uspijevam riješiti. Dopustim da mi okidač za nervozu svaki dan bude isti npr. ako na nekom nezgodnom mjestu susretnem auto gdje se teško razmijenimo. Kao da ja imam utjecaj na to. Zbog toga mi se ovaj njegov savjet sviđa da svaki put kada krenem tako misliti, počnem izvlačiti nešto pozitivno. Kako to utječe na nas? Pa tako da nakon nekog vremena nesvjesno počneš to raditi i prestaneš gubiti živce zbog gluposti.
- I can objectively think of negative things that happen to me, but my immediate instinct is now to think, “Yeah, but that's not so bad. And besides, this other good thing happened to me.”
-From now on, every time you have any negative thought, simply think of one positive aspect of the situation. The positive aspect doesn't have to be equal in magnitude to the negative aspects, it just has to exist.
-Whenever you find yourself thinking poorly of someone or in some sort of conflict with someone, force yourself to say to yourself, “Remember that this person is just doing their best and trying to be happy, just like me.”
Meditacija je isto jedna od navika s kojom se još borim. Nekako sam hiperaktivan kad je ona u pitanju i teško se smirim da to odradim, ali ne odustajem :)
-A key distinction that made meditation easier for me was to realize that being really bad at it was a good thing. For one, it meant that I needed it, because I was unable to silence my mind, and second it meant that I was actually able to practice focusing my mind. If meditation was easy, I learned, it would not be as beneficial.
Knjiga je dosta kratka tako da se može pročitati za jednu večer ili dvije. Sigurno ćete, ukoliko niste kao ja već neke stvari znali, saznati mnoštvo zanimljivih činjenica koje će vam promijeniti svakodnevicu ako to poželite implementirati.
Ono što mi se sviđa je da je autor Tynan dosta sličan meni. Ni meni nitko od mojih prijatelja ili poznanika ne bi vjerovao da sam ovako odlučan da promijenim neke stvari u svom životu po čemu me mnogi identificiraju. Kao prvo, svima je čudno da ja uopće čitam knjige jer ih nisam volio ni u školi niti kasnije. A zašto ih nisam volio? Zato što nisam čitao ono što želim nego ono što mi je sustav govorio da trebam čitati. Tek sada kada čitam što želim, čitanje mi je doslovno najdraži hobi. Bez pretjerivanja. To je najbitnija navika koju sam ja uveo u svoj život zadnjih godina. A krenuo sam tako da sam čitao doslovno 10 minuta svaki dan uz štopericu na mobitelu. Kada bi ta štoperica zazvonila, spustio bih knjigu. Danas čitam koliko god mogu više i kada god mogu.
Ono što je zanimljivo iz ove knjige je to da shvatimo da sve što radimo je plod naših navika. Sad je samo bitno prepoznati kojih se trebamo riješiti, a koje trebamo uvesti da bi naš život bio skladniji i bliže onom što želimo od sebe.
Bitno je da napravimo naviku koje ćemo se moći držati umjesto da idemo u ekstreme pa se umorimo nakon kraćeg vremena.
- it's better to maintain a modest life-long habit than to start an extreme habit that can't be sustained for a single year.
- So make your habits relatively easy, but never miss doing them.
Čuvaj se izlika jer ljudski mozak je maher u smišljanju istih.
- So if you say to yourself, “Okay, I'm not going to meditate tonight because I'm just too tired,” a part of you may challenge, “Even though I am tired, maybe I can just get through it.”
- We are all creative enough to come up with “good reasons” for not doing something that we don't feel like doing.
Ako preskočiš dva dana neku naviku koju pokušavaš uvesti, to je već propalo. Onda ide treći dan gdje kažeš ma sad je svejedno. Zato budi ustrajan i ne popuštaj.
- Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide.
Ako ti se ne da učiti njemački na Duolingu danas, a znaš da si rekao da ćeš svaki dan učiti bar 10 minuta onda se natjeraj da prođeš kroz lekciju kako god. Koliko god loše to odradio. Samo nemoj preskočiti. Ovo sam radio stvarno često na Duolingu.
- Do it perfectly if you can, but do it terribly if that's all you can handle. Just make sure that you do it.
- Remember that the power of a habit isn't actually in the individual execution, but in the consistency. It is far far worse to skip doing something than to just do a horrible job of it.
Za sve budi ti odgovoran. Ako je nešto loše, ti si odgovoran. Šta god. Znaš zašto? Zato jer onda ti imaš i moć da to promijeniš.
- Not happy? Assume that it is your fault. Not in shape? Assume that it is your fault. Not as wealthy as you'd like to be? Assume that it is your fault. Don't have as many friends as you'd like, get sick frequently, or live in a messy house? All your fault. Not everything is actually your fault, but by assuming it is, you give yourself an opportunity to take responsibility for the future by coming up with a plan to change things.
Uvijek sam mislio da su drugi bolji i sposobniji te da su oni koji su uspjeli totalno drugi ljudi, ali nisu. Čak šta više, to su obični ljudi koji su ustrajali u svojim željama. Ništa bolji niti sposobniji od tebe.
- I've been friends with some of the most successful musicians of my generation, some of the most successful socializers, and some of the most successful businesspeople. In every single case I've been awed by one thing- how normal they were.
Treba automatizirati sve što je moguće na taj način završiti. Ne opterećivati mozak s nekim sitnicama koje mogu biti lagano riješene.
-Saving a minute or two here and there isn't a big deal, but the cumulative benefit of removing things from that mental todo list is big.
Motivacija je bitna za mijenjanje ili uvođenje navika. Kako? Pa tako što ako pročitaš knjigu o štetnosti pržene hrane ili coca-cole, razviti ćeš neku odbojnost prema toj hrani toliko da ćeš je maksimalno izbjegavati. Nešto što bez ovakve motivacije postane teško kada dođeš u napast da takve stvari konzumiraš, a jedina motivacija protiv ti je npr. da ti je netko rekao da si se udebljao. Motivacija mora imati jake temelje da bi navika bila uspješna.
- Acquiring this new knowledge created a quantum shift in my beliefs regarding my habits. My triggers changed. Unhealthy food no longer prompted a desire for the hedonistic pleasure of consumption, but instead sparked a revulsion towards the path my life might follow if I ate that food.
I danas imam prijatelje i članove obitelji koji mi se smiju kada kažem da neke stvari ne želim jesti ili piti. Doslovno te ljudi ismiju jer činiš pravu stvar i paziš na zdravlje. A da ne govorim koja je to samokontrola koja umjesto ruganja treba dobiti ogromno poštovanje zbog predanosti.
- Last, negative friends can be a huge hindrance to building positive habits. Often times friends see a friend, who was previously very similar to them and is now making changes, as a threat.
Negativne i loše misli su jedna od navika koje se ne uspijevam riješiti. Dopustim da mi okidač za nervozu svaki dan bude isti npr. ako na nekom nezgodnom mjestu susretnem auto gdje se teško razmijenimo. Kao da ja imam utjecaj na to. Zbog toga mi se ovaj njegov savjet sviđa da svaki put kada krenem tako misliti, počnem izvlačiti nešto pozitivno. Kako to utječe na nas? Pa tako da nakon nekog vremena nesvjesno počneš to raditi i prestaneš gubiti živce zbog gluposti.
- I can objectively think of negative things that happen to me, but my immediate instinct is now to think, “Yeah, but that's not so bad. And besides, this other good thing happened to me.”
-From now on, every time you have any negative thought, simply think of one positive aspect of the situation. The positive aspect doesn't have to be equal in magnitude to the negative aspects, it just has to exist.
-Whenever you find yourself thinking poorly of someone or in some sort of conflict with someone, force yourself to say to yourself, “Remember that this person is just doing their best and trying to be happy, just like me.”
Meditacija je isto jedna od navika s kojom se još borim. Nekako sam hiperaktivan kad je ona u pitanju i teško se smirim da to odradim, ali ne odustajem :)
-A key distinction that made meditation easier for me was to realize that being really bad at it was a good thing. For one, it meant that I needed it, because I was unable to silence my mind, and second it meant that I was actually able to practice focusing my mind. If meditation was easy, I learned, it would not be as beneficial.
January 8, 2017
Good read. I loved the first half of it or so, where it gives great insights about habit building, the importance of it, why most of us fail at it, and how to improve.
The last part dives into specific examples... which is interesting, but I've found much, much better specific advice in other books.
I highly recommend some complementary reads:
- Switch, by Dan Heath. Gives a deeper understanding of how to build habits and make changes.
- The Now Habit, by Neil Fiore. Great for overcoming procrastination.
- The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod. Absolutely amazing for becoming an early riser.
- Producer's Guide to Workflow and Creativity, by Sam Matla. Strangely this is one is a book for music producers, but... I found it has AMAZING habit-building and productivity tips that would apply to pretty much anyone. I noticed it strategically condenses and combines the best content from many of the books I mention above.
The last part dives into specific examples... which is interesting, but I've found much, much better specific advice in other books.
I highly recommend some complementary reads:
- Switch, by Dan Heath. Gives a deeper understanding of how to build habits and make changes.
- The Now Habit, by Neil Fiore. Great for overcoming procrastination.
- The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod. Absolutely amazing for becoming an early riser.
- Producer's Guide to Workflow and Creativity, by Sam Matla. Strangely this is one is a book for music producers, but... I found it has AMAZING habit-building and productivity tips that would apply to pretty much anyone. I noticed it strategically condenses and combines the best content from many of the books I mention above.
August 3, 2019
Thanks! I finally can wake up early (a habit which i tried to build so many time and failed). Now i can do it right middle of winter!!!
Core values:
Build one and only one habit at a time
Only start doing small bit, dont ever try to do it large (even though one chap of this book advice you to tried large as first, it’s a fail for me)
Use all of your f*cking will power to get it started and do it every single day, yes, as if when you complete it, it’s all you need for the day and your day is done, you can do whatever you want then on.
Core values:
Build one and only one habit at a time
Only start doing small bit, dont ever try to do it large (even though one chap of this book advice you to tried large as first, it’s a fail for me)
Use all of your f*cking will power to get it started and do it every single day, yes, as if when you complete it, it’s all you need for the day and your day is done, you can do whatever you want then on.
October 12, 2016
Quick Read, Decent Content
The speed to read and finish the book, the cost, and the consolidated take on habits make it a good read if you want to dive into the subject or need a quick kick-in-the pants to restart habits. It reads like a long blog post. The section at the end, which is a bit like asking a well-habituated friend for advice on what worked for him when building habits, was a useful perspective.
The speed to read and finish the book, the cost, and the consolidated take on habits make it a good read if you want to dive into the subject or need a quick kick-in-the pants to restart habits. It reads like a long blog post. The section at the end, which is a bit like asking a well-habituated friend for advice on what worked for him when building habits, was a useful perspective.
December 30, 2019
Tynan talks about his own experience of trying to be a better and more productive person. He gives us tips and suggests behaviors (habits) that could make a difference in your daily basis and impact who you are.
In a simple way, he talks about his on habits, how he implements them and the pros and cons of each one.
More than teaching you what you should do to improve, he gives you tools and incentive to start your own 'new habits plan'.
In a simple way, he talks about his on habits, how he implements them and the pros and cons of each one.
More than teaching you what you should do to improve, he gives you tools and incentive to start your own 'new habits plan'.
November 30, 2014
Highly recommended! Tynan does his research and writes in an interesting and compelling way. This book offers a good mindset and some practical tips for getting those right habits in your life. Even if you adopt only one of those habits the advantage that it will bring is easily worth the ~3 euro that Tynan asks for his book.
Go read it!
Go read it!
February 11, 2017
Some original ideas & perspectives on habits in the first part of the book.
He spells out some principles and pitfalls of creating habits but doesn't speak much to the process of creating a habit.
The second half is specific habit suggestions & personally didn't get value from this, possibly because I already have most of them.
He spells out some principles and pitfalls of creating habits but doesn't speak much to the process of creating a habit.
The second half is specific habit suggestions & personally didn't get value from this, possibly because I already have most of them.
January 14, 2017
An excellent read..
A very good, practical advice on how to stick to your productive habits consistently when you think of procrastinating or quitting. Filled with nuggets of wisdom which you can apply out of the box.
A very good, practical advice on how to stick to your productive habits consistently when you think of procrastinating or quitting. Filled with nuggets of wisdom which you can apply out of the box.
July 24, 2017
Tynan shares his understanding of forming long-lasting habits from experience better than anyone I have ever read. Superhuman by Habit is precise, powerful, and practical. I read in one sitting, and I immediately committed to the habit of building habits. My "loading habits" are underway....
July 14, 2019
Good Habits are the Key to an organised life. In this book, Mr. Tynan engages us with some practical ideas on building Better Habits and then shows how to succeed in life. The author always used a possible and probable kind of approach in habit making.
February 22, 2017
It's like a long blogpost. Not many new ideas.
October 15, 2017
Brief, honest, practical and helpful!
December 30, 2018
Excellent book on building habits.
November 18, 2019
A. Some sentences which I like the most in this book:
1. "Did you brush your teeth this morning? If so, it was because you've built that habit, not because you took fifteen minutes this morning to carefully weigh the pros and cons of dental hygiene. If you procrastinated today, it's because you've built the habit of procrastinating."
2. "New habits are things that you do, but old habits are things that you are ... If you want to improve yourself permanently, you must develop more old habits, which is done by creating new habits and sticking with them until they mature into old habits."
3. "For example, if you've decide that you're going to meditate every single night, but you didn't decide that you're going to meditate directly after eating dinner, before you have the chance to get tired."
4. "Mistakes will happen, but the most important thing is how you react to them. If successes push you forward, but mistakes also push you forward... Instead of saying 'I'm so bad at this', say 'I'm better than this'"
5. "Focusing on results, especially short term results, is an excellent way to add stress to your life, which is an excellent way to quit a habit associated with that stress, thus ensuring no long term results are ever achieved. Track you adherence to process, not your results."
B. Some habits I used after reading this book:
1. Good Sleep: go sleep at 11 pm, change the screen brightness by 25% at least 2 hours before sleep and turn off mobile, laptop 30 minutes before sleep. Wake up at 6 am, personal cleaning, make and eat breakfast, meditate in 5 minutes, write my daily plan, read 20 pages of a book or learn to code and then go to work. I read or code in the morning because maybe if I plan to do them in the evening, I will miss them by hanging out with my friends.
2. Meditation: Focus to breath in ... breath out ... breath in ... breath out.
3. Take vitamin D every day: because I'm working in an office, so I need to take vitamin D every day.
4. Working out: pushup at least 60 times per day, plank at least 3 minutes per day.
5. Traveling to Unusual places: plan to travel at least 1 months before, choose places that are radically different from those with which I'm familiar. Maybe another province in my country or another country.
6. Writing daily: Begin writing my blog, I write about 300 words per day, in 30 minutes at night. Write every day but I can just post 2 of them per week.
7. Getting rid of stuff = Minimalism
8. Always be on time
1. "Did you brush your teeth this morning? If so, it was because you've built that habit, not because you took fifteen minutes this morning to carefully weigh the pros and cons of dental hygiene. If you procrastinated today, it's because you've built the habit of procrastinating."
2. "New habits are things that you do, but old habits are things that you are ... If you want to improve yourself permanently, you must develop more old habits, which is done by creating new habits and sticking with them until they mature into old habits."
3. "For example, if you've decide that you're going to meditate every single night, but you didn't decide that you're going to meditate directly after eating dinner, before you have the chance to get tired."
4. "Mistakes will happen, but the most important thing is how you react to them. If successes push you forward, but mistakes also push you forward... Instead of saying 'I'm so bad at this', say 'I'm better than this'"
5. "Focusing on results, especially short term results, is an excellent way to add stress to your life, which is an excellent way to quit a habit associated with that stress, thus ensuring no long term results are ever achieved. Track you adherence to process, not your results."
B. Some habits I used after reading this book:
1. Good Sleep: go sleep at 11 pm, change the screen brightness by 25% at least 2 hours before sleep and turn off mobile, laptop 30 minutes before sleep. Wake up at 6 am, personal cleaning, make and eat breakfast, meditate in 5 minutes, write my daily plan, read 20 pages of a book or learn to code and then go to work. I read or code in the morning because maybe if I plan to do them in the evening, I will miss them by hanging out with my friends.
2. Meditation: Focus to breath in ... breath out ... breath in ... breath out.
3. Take vitamin D every day: because I'm working in an office, so I need to take vitamin D every day.
4. Working out: pushup at least 60 times per day, plank at least 3 minutes per day.
5. Traveling to Unusual places: plan to travel at least 1 months before, choose places that are radically different from those with which I'm familiar. Maybe another province in my country or another country.
6. Writing daily: Begin writing my blog, I write about 300 words per day, in 30 minutes at night. Write every day but I can just post 2 of them per week.
7. Getting rid of stuff = Minimalism
8. Always be on time
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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