Advantages of creating systems and not just setting goals | Peter Attia, M.D. with James Clear

This clip is from podcast # 183 - Building & Changing Habits with James Clear

--------
About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 45 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life).

Connect with Peter on:

Subscribe to The Drive:

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor-patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and the materials linked to this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content on this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they have, and they should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. I take conflicts of interest very seriously. For all of my disclosures and the companies I invest in or advise, please visit my website where I keep an up-to-date and active list of such companies.

[altan]

"Act in alignment with the person you're trying to be" love this one! Thanks for the great interview!

[MelanieSakowski]

1. Make changes that are small and easy to do.
2. Layer them on top of each other (like units in a system or atoms in a molecule).

[smileyspoon]

I actually had the identity epiphany like this video recently. My son was born ten months ago and I promised my wife no side projects for a year. Things God hard for a while because I didn't feel like I was being the best at anything. I returned to my previous routine of waking up early, learning and doing side projects in the morning but just really scaled it back so it's not intrusive to family life. I felt like myself again and felt more relaxed when I am just chilling with the family. When your actions and your identity is not in alignment... Things get messy real quick.

[magueysunset]

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” I like this quote. The workbook called 30 Days to Reduce Stress by Harper Daniels goes great with Atomic Habits too.

[gmaro]

This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on YouTube. 10/10 analysis.

[hazezard]

I have practice what James Clear thought in his book "the Atomic Habits".

I love the fact that we can improve our behavior base on small progress and setup the environment to help us progress even more.

However there is one big flaw when we rely on the environment. When the environment change we lost the habits we accumulate.

It happen to me during the pandemic. All my daily routine was disrupted when the movement restrictions order announced in my country.

In my case i reverted to my lazy old self laying sofa watch phone all day.

I found the best way to build habits is through believe system. This is because no matter what happen to the environment, we are still holding to the value we believe. We are still the same person with the same character.

For me the best believe system is Islam.

[armenalexanian]

This video sounds like it might be boring but the concept of developing a vision for your desired identity (as a healthy person or strong or sociable etc) is the most powerful mindset I can imagine. I used to eat like a powerlifter but I lifted weights like a hobbyist and I gained a bunch of fat. Now that I've adjusted my identity, I eat and lift like a hobbyist and my weight is where it should be. This video deserves 100x more emphasis and it's a shame it's just mixed in with millions of other videos. I also dig James' concept of vision -> strategy -> tactics. Huge fan of Dr. Attia.

[quengmingmeow]

I took a speech/persuasion class in college years ago. We explored this idea—nameless at the time, but an idea——and this idea was this: how can you most effectively get someone to make a lasting change? Is it by convincing them (identity) so their behavior changes or is it getting them to do behaviors (fake it til you make it) so their identity changes to match actions? There was no clear answer, but almost 30 years later with more life experience, I fall squarely into the identity camp, although I have seen people “turn into” people they weren’t by doing bad behaviors. Maybe if the behavior is “easy to do” (like many things making someone a worse person), then identity isn’t supreme. But attempting to change by doing harder things (improving one’s self) I believe is supremely identity.

[justinkompf]

Great work discussing identity. Research actually is coming out on this. We focus on it for exercise promotion. Our next study is going to look at it in relationship to resistance training participation. Strength training I think is great for identity promotion because you can become more technically skilled and you can increase the weight you lift. Skill improvement —> identity revision —> continued adherence. There’s some interesting work on social media posting as it relates to identity for exercise too because self expression is one way to show that a behavior is a part of who you are. Anyways, done rambling, love this is a discussion!

[edu.monstrik]

I´ve seen this clip twice and the part with the smoker answers example was really enlightning (8:04).
Well done here!

[monsaemon]

I’ve always argued this with my bosses at work that if you focus more on process over result, once the process is ironed out the desired outcome will happen as a result of the process.

[thomashayes]

Identity versus outcome was how I finally managed to quit drinking after 15 years. Instead of "quitting drinking" I reframed it as "I'm not a drinker anymore." and it felt almost overnight, the mindset shift.

[jasonlee]

I changed overnight when my wife became ill. So an external driver. It made me refocus on my health and lifestyle.

[filmawayvlad]

I find this conversation really important! Great English! Greek wisdom combined with the ambivalence of the post-modernistic semantics is great too!

[napez]

Small habits based on positive emotion is sustainable and creates systems

[tammyfulkerson]

Needed these reminders! Thank you....long recovery from 2 big injuries and could NOT work out....im trying now to just be who I was( a person who works out)...after a 3 month NO WORKOUT....you've helped with the mindset I need to revive. I'm fortunate as I have loved being a workout person...

[atwithev]

This reminds me of a time when my good friend smoked his last cigarette. He just randomly in the middle of the day said remember when I used to smoke? And then from then on referred to smoking in the past tense and refered to himself as not a smoker... The day of I thought he was insane, but he's not smoked a cigarette in 10 years so I guess he won

[OnkarShrma]

Watch from 6:00 . You will still understand everything from this video.

[celwise]

Peter is such a great interviewer... Love James' message too.. FTA for the algo

[operationacoustic]

Is it me or does James Clear have the exact same voice as Tim Ferriss? loll