Habits as Voting
“Every action is a vote for the kind of person you want to become.”
When James Clear said this during his interview on the Chase Jarvis Live podcast, I had to hit pause. I was stunned.
Now, I’ve been studying habits and motivation and personal behavior for years, but this phrasing that resonated deep in my body in a new way.
There is something different in Clear’s approach to tying together the identity shift and the repeated action.
I immediately bought his book, Atomic Habits, and have been devouring it. It’s slow reading for me because I keep pausing to think, absorb, journal.
“The process of building a habit is actually the process of becoming yourself.”
“In any election, there are going to be votes for both sides. You don’t need a unanimous vote to win an election; you just need a majority. It doesn’t matter if you cast a few votes for a bad behavior or an unproductive habit. Your goal is simply to win the majority of the time.” [emphasis mine]
Maybe it’s because we’re still in the longest election season ever. Maybe it’s because I’m actively tweeting out a countdown daily. Doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that I heard this and am taking it in and find it the best framework for having space for the inevitable “slip-ups,” a framework that calms down my perfectionist tendencies.
I’m loving this two stage process:
Identify who you want to be in the future
Ask yourself, “Does this habit help me become who I want to be?”
May your best self win.