James Clear

So you might find that like for the morning commute, maybe instead of having a cigarette, you come up with something else that you can do on the morning commute that fulfills that desire. Maybe even just a cup of coffee is what wakes you up instead of a cigarette. That may not work for the 1030 session with your friend. Maybe there you actually need like an e-cigarette to start.

Want to have the socialization of feeling like you're smoking with a friend. You may need to like take it in different stages and break it down. Degree where it's easier to have a line of attack.

Want to have the socialization of feeling like you're smoking with a friend. You may need to like take it in different stages and break it down. Degree where it's easier to have a line of attack.

Environment is like a form of gravity pulls on you and you can resist it for a little bit, but maybe a day or week or a month. But at some point it just starts to drain on you, sucks you back in.

Environment is like a form of gravity pulls on you and you can resist it for a little bit, but maybe a day or week or a month. But at some point it just starts to drain on you, sucks you back in.

And to your point about going back to the environment that prompted the behavior in the first place, I mean, this is one of the stories I share in Atomic Habits, but it was the surprise that we saw from the Vietnam War, which is so many soldiers were getting addicted to heroin and drugs when they were over there.

And to your point about going back to the environment that prompted the behavior in the first place, I mean, this is one of the stories I share in Atomic Habits, but it was the surprise that we saw from the Vietnam War, which is so many soldiers were getting addicted to heroin and drugs when they were over there.

And then they came back and we were like, what are we going to do with all these addicted soldiers? And it turns out that 90% of them or more ended up being fine because they didn't go back to the place where they got addicted. They went home to their friends and family and they didn't have all the same signals that were prompting them to pick up the habit.

And then they came back and we were like, what are we going to do with all these addicted soldiers? And it turns out that 90% of them or more ended up being fine because they didn't go back to the place where they got addicted. They went home to their friends and family and they didn't have all the same signals that were prompting them to pick up the habit.

And so they were able to drop it much more easily than we thought they would. And compare that to the typical drug addict who does the reverse. They go into rehab and that's where they leave all of their cues and influences behind. And then once they get clean and they detox, we send them back to the same place where they got addicted before. That is much, much harder uphill battle.

And so they were able to drop it much more easily than we thought they would. And compare that to the typical drug addict who does the reverse. They go into rehab and that's where they leave all of their cues and influences behind. And then once they get clean and they detox, we send them back to the same place where they got addicted before. That is much, much harder uphill battle.

So environment, I think it's kind of like the invisible hand that drives our behavior. As you said, it's kind of like water, you know, fish and water. We don't realize it, but we all have these things that we say are important to us. Oh, I would like to lose weight or I'd like to build a business or I want to finish a book. But then you look around the spaces where we live and work.

So environment, I think it's kind of like the invisible hand that drives our behavior. As you said, it's kind of like water, you know, fish and water. We don't realize it, but we all have these things that we say are important to us. Oh, I would like to lose weight or I'd like to build a business or I want to finish a book. But then you look around the spaces where we live and work.

The cues of those habits are not a big part of the environment. We all are. Busy, strapped for time, minimal energy, we have kids to take care of or parents to do chores for or friends to see. And whenever we have limited capacity or limited time or we're low on energy or exhausted, what choice do we make? We often choose the thing that is most obvious in the environment.

The cues of those habits are not a big part of the environment. We all are. Busy, strapped for time, minimal energy, we have kids to take care of or parents to do chores for or friends to see. And whenever we have limited capacity or limited time or we're low on energy or exhausted, what choice do we make? We often choose the thing that is most obvious in the environment.

We choose the thing that is the easy choice or the path of least resistance. And so if I'm recommending a place to start for changing behavior, it's usually either the first law or the third law. It's making it obvious and making it easy. Because we can talk about making it easy, but scaling habits down obviously makes it more likely that you're able to complete the task.

We choose the thing that is the easy choice or the path of least resistance. And so if I'm recommending a place to start for changing behavior, it's usually either the first law or the third law. It's making it obvious and making it easy. Because we can talk about making it easy, but scaling habits down obviously makes it more likely that you're able to complete the task.

And making it obvious essentially creates an environment where the good choices are right in front of you, where they're the path of least resistance. And individually, I think it's easy to overlook the importance of this because individually, one change to the environment does not usually meaningfully move the needle or change your behavior.

And making it obvious essentially creates an environment where the good choices are right in front of you, where they're the path of least resistance. And individually, I think it's easy to overlook the importance of this because individually, one change to the environment does not usually meaningfully move the needle or change your behavior.

But collectively, making a dozen or two dozen or 50 little choices to how your office is laid out and how your living room is laid out and how your kitchen is laid out Yeah, now all of a sudden you're working and thriving in a space that is stacking the odds in your favor.