Your habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The time you spend now to implement the Four Laws of Behavior Change and improve your habits will pay dividends for years to come. Small changes may appear to make little to no difference until your habits accumulate and cross a critical threshold. That’s when you experience a breakthrough and reap the full benefit of your efforts.
When developing new habits and working on the Four Laws of Behavior Change, it is imperative that you start small. By focusing all of your effort and attention in a single direction, you will create new habits that stick. Once they stick, and you no longer have to spend much time thinking about them, you can move on and focus your attention on forming other new habits.
As a reminder, the Four Laws of Behavior Change are:
The First Law: Make It Obvious
Habits that are obvious are more likely to stick. Making it obvious means you work to increase your awareness of new habits and create an environment that ensures these habits are highly visible.
The Second Law: Make It Attractive
Habits that are attractive are more likely to stick. Making it attractive means you put measures in place that magnify either the draw of good habits or the ill effects of bad habits. Attractive actions induce behaviors that become habits, just as unattractive actions stop bad habits from continuing.
The Third Law: Make It Easy
Easy behaviors tend to get repeated and repetition forms habits. Likewise, obstacles that make behaviors difficult halt repetition and the formation of habits. Any habit can be mastered with hard work and practice. Making it easy increases your practice.
The Fourth Law: Make It Satisfying
Bad habits often form because they are immediately satisfying, whereas many good habits produce satisfaction that is delayed or long term. Pairing your good habits with results that are immediately satisfying ensures they stick. Creating immediate consequences for your bad habits makes them less satisfying and less likely to continue.
The ATOMIC HABITS TEST will reveal your strengths and weaknesses in implementing the Four Laws of Behavior Change. Your results report will offer a ton of suggestions to help you begin improving your habits. If you haven’t read Atomic Habits, you will definitely want to read the book first. It will help you tremendously and there’s no sense in taking the ATOMIC HABITS TEST until you’ve had a chance to practice what you’ve learned in the book.