"The person who tells the best story rules their corner of the world."
- James Clear
"Your relationships will rarely be healthier than your self-esteem.
If the time you spend alone is already enjoyable to some degree—that is, if you have a healthy internal monologue and generally feel good about yourself—then you will have a fairly high bar for the type of relationships you'll enter.
But if you're unhappy with yourself, then you are more likely to put up with bad relationships because they may occasionally make you feel better than you do alone. If you want a great relationship, the first thing you want is to be comfortable with yourself."
- James Clear
"Optimism early, pessimism in the middle, optimism late.
Your starting position has to be somewhat optimistic or you'll talk yourself out of getting started. Believing in what you are about to do does not guarantee success, but a lack of belief can prevent it.
Once you've committed, pessimism becomes useful. Question things. Find holes in your plan. Hold yourself to a high standard and try to identify your mistaken beliefs before they become your misplaced actions.
After you've spent some time troubleshooting, it's back to optimism again. Nothing will ever be perfect, but you have to act anyway. Progress requires the courage to forge ahead despite the inevitable obstacles."
- James Clear
"Arguably the most important skill is controlling your attention. This goes beyond merely avoiding distractions. The deeper skill is finding the highest and best use for your time, given what is important to you. More than anything else, controlling your attention is about being able to figure out what you should be working on and identifying what truly moves the needle."
- James Clear
"When you're doing something hard, focus on the fun part.
Many people make a subtle mistake, which is they emphasize how difficult it is to do something. They tell themselves writing is hard or running is hard or math is hard. And so on. The dominant thought in their mind is that this is hard to do.
And it is true these things (and many others in life) can be challenging.
Meanwhile, people who thrive in a given area are often emphasizing a completely different aspect of the experience. They are thinking about how it feels good to move their body rather than telling themselves exercise is hard. Or, perhaps, they aren't really thinking much at all. They may slip into a trance during their run, a meditative rhythm.
But what they are almost certainly not doing is repeating a mental story about how hard it is to do the thing. Their dominant thought is about some element of the experience they enjoy. They are working hard, but with the fun part in mind. "
- James Clear
"Many people view their habits and routines as obstacles or, at the very least, obligations to get through. Making the morning coffee, driving your kids to the next activity, preparing the next meal—we often see our routines as chores to be completed.
But these are not moments to be dismissed. They are life. Making coffee can be a peaceful ritual—perhaps even a fulfilling one—if done with care rather than rushed to completion. It’s about the amount of attention you devote to these simple moments, and whether you choose to appreciate them or bulldoze through them on the way to the next task.
Find the beauty and joy in your daily rituals and you will find beauty and joy in your daily life. To love your habits is to love your days, and to love your days is to love your life."
- James Clear
"People spend a lot of time talking about other people's bodies, gossiping about other people's relationships, critiquing other people's business, etc.
Keep your eyes on your own paper. Work on your body. Nurture your relationships. Improve your business.
We all have plenty to improve."
- James Clear
"Enough courage to get started + enough sense to focus on something you’re naturally suited for + enough persistence to stay in the game long enough to catch a few lucky breaks + a lot of hard work. There’s your recipe."
- James Clear
"A valuable skill in life is to be larger than the situation.
When you're feeling stressed or rattled, the situation is consuming you. It feels bigger and more important than it needs to be. This is when your emotions are likely to get the best of you.
But when you are larger than the situation, you can mentally "step outside and above it." Yes, there are problems to be solved. Yes, you need to take action. But the chaos is happening externally and you are still in the driver's seat internally. You're in control of the moment, the moment is not in control of you."
- James Clear
"My approach is to empower, not to prescribe. I'm not interested in telling you which habits you should build or which choices you should make. You know what works for your life and circumstances better than I ever could. Instead, I want to equip and empower you with ideas and strategies so you can make your own choices and do the things you want to do. I'll give you the hammer, you decide where to drive the nail."
- James Clear
"Who does the work? Who bears the consequences? Who reaps the rewards? When the incentives are aligned, it's the same person."
- James Clear
"When nothing is working, explore and make a lot of small bets.
After something starts working, double down on what works best.
When that stops working, explore and make a lot of small bets again."
- James Clear
"Some things work and some things don't. There is almost always another way to get where you want to go. Don't keep trying to open a locked door."
- James Clear
"I recently found a box filled with notes I wrote to myself years ago. I like this one:
1. Know what you want.
2. Go after it relentlessly."
- James Clear
"One version of confidence is: I've got this figured out.
Another version is: I can figure this out.
The first is arrogant and close-minded. The second is humble and open-minded.
Be humble about what you know, but confident about what you can learn."
- James Clear
"Work hard.
If results depend on effort, then you will carry yourself far.
If results depend on effort and luck, then you will have done what you can to influence the outcome.
And if results depend on luck alone, then the outcome is random, but you will have won the battle with yourself."
- James Clear
"We want solutions, but what we really need are attitudes.
You don’t need abs, but rather an attitude of training. You don’t need the answer, but rather an attitude of curiosity. You don’t need an easier life, but rather an attitude of perseverance.
Attitude precedes outcome."
- James Clear
"One sign you haven’t done enough reading is if you find yourself agreeing with whatever book you read last. At first, it’s easy to be swayed by any reasonable argument. Once you’ve read a lot, you can see that even the best arguments have limitations."
- James Clear
"Avoiding mistakes is an underrated way to improve. It's easier to fend off a bad day than achieve a perfect day. Rather than do your best, avoid your worst."
- James Clear
"Most of the time you don't need more information, you need more courage."
- James Clear
"Highly focused people do not leave their options open. They select their priorities and are comfortable ignoring the rest. If you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything."
- James Clear
"Passion is a feeling that follows action. It tends to be created or discovered, not predicted or planned. You don't find your passion. It finds you as you get in the mix and try things."
- James Clear
"Curiosity is the beginning of knowledge. Action is the beginning of change."
- James Clear
"Start with the thing you are most motivated to do.
Start with a small habit you think is fun and do it consistently. This will not only feel satisfying, but also open your eyes to the type of person you can become.
After the first domino falls, you can use the momentum to do a little more."
- James Clear
"Life rewards action, not intelligence.
Many brilliant people talk themselves out of getting started, and being smart doesn't help very much without the courage to act.
You can't win if you're not in the game."
- James Clear
"Small things matter when they accumulate. This is one of the main lessons of my work—and one of the principles I try to follow in my life. The details, when finely polished and carefully combined, add up to something remarkable."
- James Clear
"People usually judge you based on where you are at currently, not what you could become eventually. Don't let one comment stop you from trying. File it away or use it as fuel. Focus on getting better. Someone else's analysis of your current position doesn't tell you anything about your current potential."
- James Clear
"The person who focuses on one task and sees it through to completion—even if they work in a somewhat slow or outdated manner—beats the endless optimizer who jumps from tool to tool and always hopes a new piece of technology will help them finish what they start."
- James Clear
"The difference between how I feel before my first set in the gym and how I feel after my first set is enormous.
You don't even need a full workout (or work session, etc.) to feel good again. You are 5 minutes away from putting your day on a completely different trajectory."
- James Clear
"The myth is that there isn't enough time. There is plenty of time. There isn't enough focus with the time you have. You win by directing your attention toward better things."
- James Clear
"It generally feels better to run toward something than to run away from something. Focus on what is pulling you in, not what you're trying to avoid."
- James Clear
"Just because improvements aren't visible doesn't mean they aren't happening.
You're not going to see the number change each time you step on the scale. You're not going to finish a chapter each time you sit down to write.
Early wins come easy. Lasting wins require a lifestyle."
- James Clear
"The best way to change the world is in concentric circles: start with yourself and work your way out from there."
- James Clear
"10 years or 1 hour. Those are the two time frames worth prioritizing.
10 years is shorthand for thinking longer-term than nearly everyone else and doing things that are really ambitious or meaningful. Most of the deeply meaningful things in life require long time horizons: building a business, cultivating a happy marriage, growing a family, getting in the best shape of your life, etc.
How do you work toward the 10-year things? In 1 hour increments. 1 hour is shorthand for doing things that can be accomplished from start to finish in a single session like a good workout, a good writing session, reading a chapter of a book, going on a fun date, etc. The key is that you finish with something accomplished, not with half-work still waiting to be completed.
If you spend 1 hour working toward a 10-year project—and you repeat this day after day—you’re going to end up living a lovely life."
- James Clear
"Sometimes all you need for exceptional results is average effort repeated for an above-average amount of time."
- James Clear
"Talent is rarely enough to assure victory and bad luck is rarely enough to guarantee defeat.
Do they influence the outcome? Of course. But your response will always sway the final tally."
- James Clear
"It’s hard to grow beyond something if you won’t let go of it."
- James Clear
"Water never complains, but always pushes back. Always.
Drop a boulder in front of a stream and the water will simply flow around it, taking whatever opening the landscape will give or—when nothing is offered—patiently building up its resources until it rises to a height where a new gap is found.
Flow like water. Never complain, but always push back."
- James Clear
"It's hard to build momentum if you're dividing your attention."
- James Clear
"Many people won't attempt something unless they can find an example of someone else who is already doing it. Rely on this type of thinking too much and you'll never do anything interesting.
Your path through life is unique. It is important to extract lessons from the experiences of others, but you can't wait for a perfect example to take action. You are the example."
- James Clear
"Speed is perpetually undervalued.
Asking that person out today means you get to live more of your life with them and less of your life waiting.
Starting your business today means you begin learning immediately and have more time to figure out what works.
Go fast. The future is never guaranteed and the right time may never come."
- James Clear
"One of the most critical skills in life—and yet never taught in school—is choosing where to direct your attention.
After graduation, the valedictorian will often get lapped by “average” people who better invest their time."
- James Clear
"The connective tissue between your failures and your successes is the lessons you learn along the way.
It is only by going through your early attempts (usually failures in some form) that you accumulate the insights, skills, and understanding required for success.
Everything is a lesson. Learn enough lessons and the failures become useful."
- James Clear
"Focus starts with elimination, improves with concentration, and compounds with continuation."
- James Clear
"Don’t rush, but don’t wait.
Act with urgency, but release yourself from the need to achieve it on a particular timeline. When you think longer term than most, you can think bigger than most.
If it takes years, start now."
- James Clear
"Imagine the outcome you want to create.
Envision where you are headed in great detail. Don’t talk yourself out of it. Don’t encourage yourself to be realistic. You will have to wrestle with reality soon enough. Don’t be your own bottleneck at this stage.
What would the magical outcome be"
- James Clear
"It’s rarely doing the work that is hard, it’s starting the work. Once you begin, it’s often less painful to continue working. This is why—in the beginning—it is often more important to build the habit of getting started than it is to worry about whether or not you are doing enough."
- James Clear
"A paradox of life is that the greatest returns come in the long-term, but the opportunity cost of moving slowly is huge.
Long-term thinking is not slow acting.
Act fast on things that compound. Never let a day pass without doing something that will benefit you in a decade."
- James Clear
"With the creative process, the key is to create a lot and edit a lot.
Make more than you need, then remove everything that isn’t exceptional."
- James Clear
"Momentum goes both ways.
Don’t move, feel sluggish. Start moving, feel like moving a little more.
Don’t talk, feel timid. Start chatting, conversation gets a little easier.
Don’t ship, feel stuck. Start creating, ideas begin to flow."
- James Clear