Ryan Caplet’s Reviews > Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones > Status Update

In the quest to get better and improve, it’s always good to review and make adjustments just like when Pat Riley gave each player a CBE number. It was designed to help them see something they could improve reviewing yourself is the best way to make improvements and change priorities.

The way to stay motivated is to keep working even when something isn’t as exciting. Don’t let life get in the way. Be happy with the little wins and loses along the way.

Steve Martin, the comedian was like that where he just enjoyed being up in front of a small crowd for years and years and years. Eventually, he got famous and enjoyed many years of touring all over the country, but he found something that wasn’t too hard. It wasn’t too easy, but was just right for him to do.

There’s a good place to stay motivated and that’s called the Goldilocks zone. In the Goldilocks zone you’re not bored from lack of competition and difficulty and you’re not feeling like a failure because you’re going against somebody too good for you or something that’s too much for you.

Greatness always takes hard work. Don’t just rely on your Genes. Natural abilities just make it easier or allow you to know what you like the most.

Good questions to ask are what feels like fun to me but work to others? What makes me lose track of time? Where do do I get greater returns than the average person? And what comes naturally to me?

Often the right habits might be easier if it’s something we enjoy based on our personalities. But throughout life we also have to figure out what you like and through trial and error you go through is what is called explore/exploit trade-off. When you are winning exploit when you are losing explore.

Sometimes it’s even natural things about our personalities that help us to enjoy different activities. Some are more open, more conscientious, agreeable, extroverted, and neurotic. These five characteristics might show us what we enjoy more than someone else who might have different characteristics.

On the other side, Michael Phelps was built for swimming. He had a long upper body and long arms, but he had shorter legs, and he was very tall, which are all size advantages for swimming.

Sometimes genetics matter when it comes to success in starting good habits. Hisham El Guerrouj was known for his running, not only did he put in the effort, but he was also naturally built for a greatness with long legs and a very light body.