James Clear

However, there is an interesting strategic piece to this, which is. In some cases, you can actually win by avoiding loss better than you can by chasing victory. So the classic example of this is if you're playing tennis.

At the amateur level, if you're playing tennis in high school or against somebody in your neighborhood or something like that, almost always the way to win that match is to just have fewer unforced errors. Just keep the ball in play. Keep going until your opponent makes a mistake. And so in that case, avoiding failure is actually the best path to win.

At the amateur level, if you're playing tennis in high school or against somebody in your neighborhood or something like that, almost always the way to win that match is to just have fewer unforced errors. Just keep the ball in play. Keep going until your opponent makes a mistake. And so in that case, avoiding failure is actually the best path to win.

At the amateur level, if you're playing tennis in high school or against somebody in your neighborhood or something like that, almost always the way to win that match is to just have fewer unforced errors. Just keep the ball in play. Keep going until your opponent makes a mistake. And so in that case, avoiding failure is actually the best path to win.

However, at the high level, if you're playing in your Roger Federer or Serena Williams or something, the pros have to play to win. They can't play to not lose because their opponent will keep the ball in play all day long. And so I think it's worth asking yourself, at what level am I playing? And what am I actually working on here?

However, at the high level, if you're playing in your Roger Federer or Serena Williams or something, the pros have to play to win. They can't play to not lose because their opponent will keep the ball in play all day long. And so I think it's worth asking yourself, at what level am I playing? And what am I actually working on here?

However, at the high level, if you're playing in your Roger Federer or Serena Williams or something, the pros have to play to win. They can't play to not lose because their opponent will keep the ball in play all day long. And so I think it's worth asking yourself, at what level am I playing? And what am I actually working on here?

In a lot of cases, you can make a great deal of progress by avoiding mistakes. But when you're at the top of your field, you often have to play to win. And so there's the strategic side of this, but then there's also the... question of like, do positive reinforcements or negative reinforcements work? The answer is yes. But I think positive is better in the long run.

In a lot of cases, you can make a great deal of progress by avoiding mistakes. But when you're at the top of your field, you often have to play to win. And so there's the strategic side of this, but then there's also the... question of like, do positive reinforcements or negative reinforcements work? The answer is yes. But I think positive is better in the long run.

In a lot of cases, you can make a great deal of progress by avoiding mistakes. But when you're at the top of your field, you often have to play to win. And so there's the strategic side of this, but then there's also the... question of like, do positive reinforcements or negative reinforcements work? The answer is yes. But I think positive is better in the long run.

so the short answer is yes i believe in them um but i actually think that they are much more common than they realize and they take a much different shape than the than we realize and they for sure work in both positive and negative ways the way that i would describe this you know most people think about an accountability partner and they think about like actually signing up with a group or enlisting a friend to you know keep track of whether they did their workout or something

so the short answer is yes i believe in them um but i actually think that they are much more common than they realize and they take a much different shape than the than we realize and they for sure work in both positive and negative ways the way that i would describe this you know most people think about an accountability partner and they think about like actually signing up with a group or enlisting a friend to you know keep track of whether they did their workout or something

so the short answer is yes i believe in them um but i actually think that they are much more common than they realize and they take a much different shape than the than we realize and they for sure work in both positive and negative ways the way that i would describe this you know most people think about an accountability partner and they think about like actually signing up with a group or enlisting a friend to you know keep track of whether they did their workout or something

I would say if we just broaden this a little bit to say, what is the social dynamic and how does your social environment influence your habits? The answer is in a great and very meaningful way. So we are all part of multiple groups. Some of those groups are large, like what it means to be American.

I would say if we just broaden this a little bit to say, what is the social dynamic and how does your social environment influence your habits? The answer is in a great and very meaningful way. So we are all part of multiple groups. Some of those groups are large, like what it means to be American.

I would say if we just broaden this a little bit to say, what is the social dynamic and how does your social environment influence your habits? The answer is in a great and very meaningful way. So we are all part of multiple groups. Some of those groups are large, like what it means to be American.

Some of those groups are small, like what it means to be a neighbor on your street or a member of the local CrossFit gym. And all of these groups, large and small, they have an influence on your behavior and habits.

Some of those groups are small, like what it means to be a neighbor on your street or a member of the local CrossFit gym. And all of these groups, large and small, they have an influence on your behavior and habits.

Some of those groups are small, like what it means to be a neighbor on your street or a member of the local CrossFit gym. And all of these groups, large and small, they have an influence on your behavior and habits.

and when actions are aligned with the expectations of the group with like the social norms habits are pretty attractive and the social environment will really help like usher you along and when habits go against the grain of the expectations of the group when they kind of add a little bit of friction between you and your social relationships that's a form of accountability too sometimes not always the kind that you want and habits will be very hard to build