"You can't make time go faster or success come sooner. The only thing you can control is the next action."
- James Clear
"Take all the energy you spend on...
-worrying about the past
-worrying about the future
-worrying about what others think
-worrying about if you might fail
... and channel that energy into one useful action within your control."
- James Clear
"The quality of your thoughts is determined by the quality of your reading. Spend more time thinking about the inputs."
- James Clear
"What you push down doesn’t vanish. It festers and wields quiet power over your thoughts and actions.
What needs to be addressed that isn’t currently being addressed?"
- James Clear
"On funerals, loss, grief, friendship, and support:
It's not about knowing what to say. It's about being there when nobody knows what to say. The only thing people need to hear is, "You are not alone." And that doesn't require words. It just requires your presence."
- James Clear
"Beware the student of one teacher. A good idea spirals into dogma when it gets applied to everything and stretched beyond the areas where it is useful. Remain open and embrace a lot of teachers."
- James Clear
"You can't make a comeback if you don't start."
- James Clear
"The quality of my life is significantly higher on days that I publish an article. The creative process and well-being go hand-in-hand."
- James Clear
"To learn, wander. To achieve, focus."
- James Clear
"Think about the little things you enjoy, then turn around and do them for someone else.
If you feel relief when someone asks a question in class, then other students are probably relieved too. Be the one who asks.
If you love it when a friend calls to check in, your friends probably love it too. Be the one who calls.
If it makes your whole day when someone compliments your outfit, other people probably love it too. Give out more compliments."
- James Clear
"You don't have to be good at everything, you just need to double down on what you're naturally suited for."
- James Clear
"I find the projects I'm most excited to work on are nearly always the projects that have really fantastic people associated with them."
- James Clear
"The creative process:
1. Discover - Read a lot. Observe the world. Notice.
2. Collect - Immediately record anything that strikes you.
3. Generate - Build on your notes to brainstorm lots of ideas.
4. Combine - Connect previously unconnected ideas.
5. Refine - Edit, edit, edit. Select the best."
- James Clear
"When you think you are too old to do something new remember you will never be younger than you are right now."
- James Clear
"Self-talk strategies:
If you need confidence, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend.
If you need persistence, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a student.
If you need patience, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a child."
- James Clear
"Compete externally and you compare.
Compete internally and you improve."
- James Clear
"Focus on your likes, not your wants.
-You may not want to exercise, but you like how it makes you feel.
-You may not want to write, but you like the feeling of accomplishment.
-You may not want to wake up early, but you like the calm beauty of morning.
Wanting is the desire you feel before doing something. Liking is the satisfaction you feel after doing something. Let your likes guide you."
- James Clear
"Don't just imagine doing things someday. Do them now.
Get out of your head and take action."
- James Clear
"Inspiration comes on the twenty-fifth attempt, not the first. If you want to make something excellent, don't wait for a brilliant idea to strike. Create twenty-five of what you need and one will be great. Inspiration reveals itself after you get the average ideas out of the way, not before you take the first step."
- James Clear
"Opportunities are grains of sand. They slide right past drooping fingers, but an active palm can gather whatever is within reach and shape it into a little castle. It is the act of engaging with the material that gives it shape."
- James Clear
"The secret of creative work is to make a lot and publish a little.
Don't underestimate the power of giving yourself permission to create junk. Most of what you create will be mediocre or bad.
But that's okay. You only have to show people the good stuff. Make 100 things, discard 90, and share the 10 best. Create, create, create. Edit, edit, edit."
- James Clear
"Clarity is freedom. Know what is important to you and it will grant you the freedom to ignore everything else."
- James Clear
"Dreams are fun when they are distant. The imagination loves to play with possibilities when there is no risk of failure.
But when you find yourself on the verge of action, you pause. You can feel the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Thoughts swirl. Maybe this isn't the right time? Failure is possible now.
In that moment—in that short pause that arises when you stand face to face with your dream—is the entirety of life. What you do in that pause is the crucible that forges you. It is the dividing line between being the type of person who thinks about it or the type of person who goes for it.
When I really think about it, I want that moment to be my legacy. Not that I won or lost. Not that I looked good or looked like a fool. But that when I had something I really wanted to do, I went for it."
- James Clear
"Plant the seeds of greatness in your mind."
- James Clear
"When you drink water from a cup, it becomes part of you. When water falls on you like rain, it evaporates a few minutes later.
Similarly, thoughts can be consumed or dismissed. Is this thought nourishing? Is this feeling something you should drink? Or is it more like getting caught in the rain?
You'll always feel the rain, but you don't have to drink the rain. You can let the thought pass and in a few moments the sun will return. You don't have to claim everything you feel."
- James Clear
"Finding your way in life is like unlocking the combination of a safe. You have to go forwards and backwards. Life is not a direct march from A to B. The twists and turns are progress, not regression. What feels like a setback in the moment is later revealed to have been part of the path all along. Each move was necessary to get to your end goal."
- James Clear
"Boredom is a filter. Common ideas come before it. Uncommon ideas come after it. Sit with a project long enough to get bored with it, then sit a little more. The most useful insights bubble up after you get bored."
- James Clear
"Creativity is the focused combination of unlikely things. Your mind locks onto a certain element and then searches widely for something unexpected that fits with it. What can scuba diving teach you about agriculture? What can trees teach you about public speaking? There is always some connective tissue between disciplines. If you wish to be more creative, look for the connections between two previously unconnected things."
- James Clear
"One of the great mistakes in life is suffering for years because you didn't want to feel foolish for five minutes.
-You don't want to apologize, so you let a relationship deteriorate.
-You're scared of the sting of rejection, so you don't ask for what you want.
-You fear people will say your idea is dumb, so you never start the business.
Nobody likes feeling foolish, but the feeling fades quickly. The willingness to endure five minutes of discomfort turns out to be a meaningful dividing line in life."
- James Clear
"Carry an ambitious question with you each day and keep looking for answers."
- James Clear
"You can handle whatever you face."
- James Clear
"Your life will not magically exceed your standards. Improve your boundaries and life improves too."
- James Clear
"Don't wait to start writing until you have something to say. Start writing so you can find out what you have to say.
You first idea is rarely your best idea. It can take a lot of reps before you discover something worth keeping."
- James Clear
"Never outsource what you enjoy."
- James Clear
"Wisdom is the echo of experience."
- James Clear
"If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade.
And yet, we talk ourselves into it all the time. We take promotions that pay more, but swallow our free time. We already have a successful business, but we break ourselves trying to make it even more successful.
Too much focus on wealth, not enough focus on lifestyle."
- James Clear
"If you feel resistance before you begin, it's usually procrastination and you need to get started.
If you feel resistance after you begin, it's usually feedback and you need to make adjustments."
- James Clear
"A truth unsaid can still be felt.
What needs to be discussed, but hasn't been said yet?
Clear the air."
- James Clear
"The simplest way to clarify your thinking is to write a full page about whatever you are dealing with and then delete everything except the 1-2 sentences that explain it best."
- James Clear
"You can go to hell without moving an inch, just focus on what you lack.
You can taste heaven without leaving earth, just rejoice in what you have."
- James Clear
"In theory, consistency is about being disciplined, determined, and unwavering.
In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don't have much time? Scale it down. Don't have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day.
Adaptability is the way of consistency."
- James Clear
"If you want to avoid criticism, create less.
If you want to avoid irrelevance, create more."
- James Clear
"The secret is not to find the meaning of life, but to use your life to make things that are meaningful."
- James Clear
"Do things for your own satisfaction. Consider praise from others to be a bonus. If you don't work for their validation in the first place, you won't need it to feel satisfied once it's done."
- James Clear
"I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.
Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats.
Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile. That said, don’t be scared of a bad haircut. Trying something new is usually a risk worth taking. If it doesn’t work out, by this time next year you will have moved on and so will everyone else.
A few decisions are like tattoos. Once you make them, you have to live with them. Some mistakes are irreversible. Maybe you’ll move on for a moment, but then you’ll glance in the mirror and be reminded of that choice all over again. Even years later, the decision leaves a mark. When you’re dealing with an irreversible choice, move slowly and think carefully."
- James Clear
"When I go into a situation, I try to keep a mindset of baseline optimism.
-When starting the day: It’s going to be a good day.
-When meeting someone new: I’m going to like them.
-When trying something challenging: It’s going to work out.
Problems will inevitably arise and I’ll deal with them as the situation demands, but my preference is to assume I’m on a winning path until proven otherwise."
- James Clear
"You should always be rooting for the people you know. Not only because you may need their support tomorrow, but also because it feels good to celebrate something.
Celebration can rescue your day—even if it is someone else's victory. Envy will ruin your day—even if you're actually winning."
- James Clear
"Pay attention to how readily people talk themselves out of things—and be wary of adopting the same narrative. People will often try to convince you their limiting beliefs should become your own. They do not. Find your own ceiling."
- James Clear
"I have learned that whenever I think "I don't have enough time to do that" what I usually mean is "I don't have enough energy" or "I am not actually interested in doing this."
What I need to do a better job of is not managing my time, but rather caring for myself and identifying my true interests. When I am well rested and working on something I am genuinely excited about, finding time is rarely a problem."
- James Clear
"The pessimist criticizes, the optimist creates."
- James Clear