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Chances are good that, at some point in your life, you tried to change your behavior. You probably relied on willpower to stay focused, and chances are also good that you failed and ended up back where you started.
If you are unlucky, you blamed yourself which only produces shame—and that is a rabbit hole with no end in sight.
There’s lots of advice out there on how to build better habits and be more productive, which implies that we’ll also become more successful. Success is usually measured in terms of money, prestige, or power. All we need is the self-discipline to morph into a superhero.
You, too, can be a superhero who wakes up at 5:00 am, with a 100-watt smile on your face as you down a chia seed-kale-avocado smoothie before a 3-hour workout. You move forward with an insatiable drive to beat yourself up until you accomplish your goals in life.
For the rest of us humans, who recognize that the above scenario actually resembles self-hatred more than a formula to help you live a better life, there are easier ways to live better every day. In fact, tiny and nearly imperceptible changes can make a huge difference over time.
James Clear writes about the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound…
