"There are two ways to live a longer life:
1) Biologically. Extend the timeline between your birth and your death.
2) Psychologically. Fit more lives into whatever time you are given.
Make each decade rich with experiences and perhaps you can live a handful of lives before you are done."
- James Clear
"Four questions that can tell you a lot:
1. When you wake up, do you expect today to have many joys or many frustrations?
2. When presented with an opportunity, do you have a bias toward action or do you postpone decisions?
3. When things go well for others, do you enjoy cheering them on or do you hate to hear about their success?
4. When things go wrong, do you believe it is your responsibility to improve the situation or do you blame others?"
- James Clear
"Spend today interpreting whatever people do in the most generous way. See if you feel better as a result."
- James Clear
"Whether a decision is good or bad can change based on how you act after the choice is made.
You can't learn all the lessons beforehand. You learn a lot about what you want in a marriage after getting married. You discover what type of career you enjoy after doing a lot of work. And so it goes in nearly every area of life. In many cases, what you wish you knew ahead of time can only be learned after the decision is made.
So there is nothing left but to pay attention to what you like, continue to iterate, and commit to making the most of each opportunity. There is no perfect decision. Good decisions are made right after the fact."
- 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
"The world is big, but industries are small.
After a few years, everyone comes to know the quality of your work.
Reputation matters."
- James Clear
"People can sometimes be held hostage by their expectations. They have a dream of something they would like to achieve or a path they intend to follow, but their mindset falls apart when things don't work out how they had hoped.
The key is to reach for an extremely high bar, but to be adaptable enough to reframe the failures, disappointments, and defeats into fuel for the next thing. Give your best effort, but no matter how it works out, trust that life will be good for you. Focus on how the world is working with you, not against you.
Everything you are given is material for the next move. Everything."
- James Clear
"Your best performances will come when you are working in a way that is a full expression of you. The work becomes a natural display of your personality. This is when you not only get better results, but also love the activity — because in doing the craft, you feel alive."
- 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
"Caring about everything is a disaster.
Caring about nothing is also a disaster.
Nurture the small pocket of things that truly matter to you."
- James Clear
"The source of healthy boundaries is self-love and self-respect. When you learn to love yourself, you are less likely to put up with people who don't love you back."
- James Clear
"At any moment, you are one good choice away from a meaningfully better life."
- James Clear
"Savor the little victories as much as you criticize the little mistakes."
- James Clear
"Writing is the superpower of humankind. It is our truest form of magic. Writing allows you to conjure up something of value where nothing previously existed. It costs little for you to write down the lessons of your life and yet those few minutes spent writing can be life-altering for the right reader. As I once saw it put: "there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words."
Furthermore, writing is the foundation of nearly every technology and innovation because we have to record what we know before we can build upon it. And these innovations are passed down from generation to generation, allowing our children to inherit a richer intellectual fortune than what we were born into. The world is richer because we write and nobody is made poorer in the process."
- James Clear
"You are better equipped to deal with stress when you are moving.
When you feel tense or frustrated or worried, it is difficult to think your way into feeling better. The more you think about the situation, the larger it becomes in your mind. Trying to think your way out of it often leads to a spiral of overthinking and rumination.
The first step is not to think something different, but to do something different. It doesn’t matter what. Stretch on the floor, go for a walk, work on a project. Get out of your mind and move your body."
- 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
"Your biological age is the number of days you've lived.
Your psychological age is the number of thoughts you've entertained.
Your sociological age is the number of contributions you've made."
- James Clear
"If you do not actively choose a better way, then society, culture, and the general inertia of life will push you into a worse way. The default is distraction, not improvement."
- James Clear
"You draw out of the world what you put into it.
Want to attract reliable people? Be reliable.
Want to attract trustworthy people? Be trustworthy.
Want to attract welcoming people? Be welcoming.
Want to attract exceptional people? Be exceptional."
- James Clear
"Decide the type of person you want to be.
Prove it to yourself with small wins."
- James Clear
"The more an idea is tied to your identity, the more you will ignore evidence it is false. People seem to have no trouble finding reasons to ignore the merits of ideas they dislike.
To continue to grow and learn, you must be willing to update, expand, and edit your identity. In many ways, growth is unlearning."
- James Clear
"If you look for evidence that people are conspiring to hold you back and the world is working against you, then it will take you no time at all to find precisely that.
If you expect to encounter helpful people and experience a world that is working with you, then you find plenty of evidence to support that view as well.
The raw material for a sweet life or a bitter life is always there. The story you emphasize is the one you notice."
- James Clear
"Focus on what provides value to others, not what impresses others.
Other people spend about as much time thinking about your lifestyle and accomplishments as you spend thinking about their lifestyle and accomplishments. Which is to say, not much time at all.
The things we do to impress others rarely impress them for longer than five minutes. But the things we do to provide value for others can last a lifetime. In the long run, one of the most impressive things you can do is provide exceptional value."
- James Clear
"Being kind to others is mostly about your actions.
Being kind to yourself is mostly about your thoughts."
- James Clear
"Two is twice as good as one, but one is infinitely better than zero.
-One minute of making sales calls is infinitely better than zero minutes.
-One minute of meditation is infinitely better than zero minutes.
-One minute of writing is infinitely better than zero minutes.
Sure, it might be ideal to spend an hour doing these things, but one minute gets you in the game. Now you're learning. Now you're improving. Now results are possible. One doesn't seem like much, but it's something real. At zero, you're still dreaming."
- James Clear
"Read, but don't just read. Read the best book you can find.
Write, but don't just write. Write the best idea you can conceive."
- James Clear
"It's easy to assume that getting rich in money will also mean you are rich in time, but it is often the case that when you earn more money, you end up with less time and more responsibilities.
Being rich is nice, but what you really want to optimize for is (1) an income that exceeds your spending by a healthy margin and (2) a lifestyle that is free from rushing."
- James Clear
"It's nice to have a little help, but we often resent when someone else tries to do it all for us. Each individual wants to make their own dreams a reality. If someone hands you the whole thing on a silver platter, they gift you the result, but rob you of the accomplishment.
Remember this not only when chasing your dreams, but also when supporting others. Help along the way, but let them run their own race. Your job is to live life with them, not live their life for them.""
- James Clear
"Clarity is freedom. Know what is important to you and it will grant you the freedom to ignore everything else."
- James Clear
"When you're on the field, play as if nothing else matters.
When you're off the field, remember that the game doesn't matter at all."
- 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
"To experience time travel, read.
To achieve immortality, write."
- James Clear
"Do bold things with a pleasant and friendly demeanor."
- James Clear
"Communication is about what is received, not what is intended. If there is a gap between what you are saying and what they are hearing, you have to find a new way to say it."
- 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
"When you're younger, it's easy to underestimate how fleeting the days can be. Each choice matters. Each day matters.
When you're older, it's easy to underestimate how much opportunity you still have. Don't talk yourself out of it. It's never too late to start."
- James Clear
"When one worldview dominates your thinking, you'll try to explain every problem you face through that worldview. Read widely and realize there are many answers."
- James Clear
"A great relationship is not only finding the person you have fun with, but also finding the person you want to be bored with. The beauty of long-term relationships is often hidden in boring, ordinary moments."
- James Clear
"In my early 20s, I wrote a list of ambitious things I wanted to do in life. Go bungee jumping. Create a movie. Start a business. That sort of thing. I did a few of them, but not most.
Looking back, however, that list was incredibly valuable because it taught me the usefulness of chasing bold ideas—even if they never materialize. The dreams that didn't happen changed shape and led me down other interesting paths.
The important thing isn't to achieve all your dreams, but to keep dreaming. Your desires change as you learn and grow. Old dreams will spawn new dreams. And eventually, one of these newer, more refined visions will find their moment and become reality."
- James Clear
"I'm not the best writer, but it is a strength. I might be a 90th percentile writer. And I'm not the best marketer, but it is a strength.
Again, maybe 90th percentile? I'm better than most, but if you pass 100 people on the street it won't be hard to find some people better than me.
What I have gradually learned is that it is not your strengths, but your combination of strengths that sets you apart. It is the fact that writing and marketing are mutually reinforcing—and that I enjoy both—that leads to great results.
How can you combine your strength? That's something I would encourage everyone to think about. You will find talented people in every area of life. It's the combinations that are rare."
- James Clear
"When you choose the benefits of an action, you also choose the drawbacks.
If you want to be an author, you can't only choose the finished novel and book signings. You are also choosing months of lonely typing. If you want to be a bodybuilder, you can't only choose the fit body and attention. You are also choosing the boring meals and calorie counting.
You have to want the lifestyle, not just the outcomes. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense being jealous. The results of success are usually public and highly visible, but the process behind success is often private and hidden from view. It's easy to want the public rewards, but also have to want the hidden costs."
- James Clear
"Make a mistake? Release the guilt, remember the lesson."
- James Clear
"Surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you. Rise together."
- James Clear
"Guilt lives in the past.
Worry lives in the future.
Peace lives in the present."
- James Clear
"Move toward the next thing, not away from the last thing.
Same direction. Completely different energy."
- James Clear
"There are at least 4 types of wealth:
1. Financial wealth (money)
2. Social wealth (status)
3. Time wealth (freedom)
4. Physical wealth (health)
Be wary of jobs that lure you in with 1 and 2, but rob you of 3 and 4."
- James Clear
"It's remarkable how often the real problem is not what happened, but how it was communicated."
- James Clear
"It's never the right time, but right now is usually the best time."
- James Clear
"A simple rule that makes life easier:
Always strive to give value before you ask for value."
- James Clear
"You can cold email nearly anyone, but nearly everyone overlooks how powerful it can be.
Sending one email each week that feels like a stretch can change your life. Will you get turned down? Sure, most of the time. But you only need one to pay off for something amazing to happen.
Take your time, write a thoughtful message, and muster the courage to press Send."
- James Clear