Rigid systems versus flexible systems
Scott Miker
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Read MoreImproving Systems and Habits
Using systems and habits to improve your life is a proven method to succeed. It requires seeing the work as a system and then adjusting your thoughts and behaviors to be able to take advantage of your opportunities in life.
Habits and routines are driving your thoughts and behavior
Scott Miker
Most people underestimate the power of habit and routine. Because these are usually subconscious elements of our lives, we don’t notice the extent to which they impact us.
We go through our morning routine getting ready for work or school in much the same way, day after day. We get ready to go to sleep in similar patterns. We drive to the store in roughly the same way.
Read MoreGetting back on track
Scott Miker
A benefit to using the systems and habits approach to improvement is that after a time when your routines get off track, you can more easily get back on track than if you relied solely on effort to reach a goal.
Because the focus is on developing routines and habits that move you towards your goals, after a long holiday weekend or after having the flu for several days, those habits tend to be there ready to be utilized again. It takes less time, then, to get back into the routine and have those habits driving behavior again.
Read MoreFailure is only helpful if you can learn from it
Scott Miker
A lot of people talk about their failures and all that they learned from them. Thomas Edison said that he doesn’t look at mistakes the same as us; in fact, he said he simply found ways that don’t work, not mistakes. This allowed him to keep improving and getting better.
But most people that I know do not grow and get better from failure. They keep making mistake after mistake. They tend to minimize their own responsibility because it is much easier to blame others. This also conserves our ego and helps from taking a hit to our self-esteem.
Read MoreSuccess follows consistent effort not random effort
Scott Miker
I write a lot about why effort is less important than we think when it comes to accomplishing goals and reaching new levels of success. I feel that people put way too much value on effort and motivation and not enough emphasis on habit and routine.
But habit and routine are what will keep us driving towards success through all the ups and downs of everyday life. If we can keep consistent with the habits driving us towards the future we want to create, we can keep making progress through all types of adversity.
Read MoreFake it till you make it
Scott Miker
There is a saying, “Fake it till you make it,” that I have heard often in life. It might be advice in a book about success or justification from someone acting abnormally.
I have struggled with this saying because of the fact that it can be incredibly helpful to “fake it till you make it.” But at times this simply becomes an excuse for acting against your own values and beliefs.
Read MoreIdentify and learn from high leverage moments to succeed
Scott Miker
There are moments that mean more than others when we are trying to improve and reach a goal. But many improvement strategies ignore them and assume every minute is the same.
It could be the moment our friend walks in our dorm to see if we want to hang out that leads us away from studying for our upcoming final. It could be driving home from work when we decide we are too tired to stop at the gym.
Read MoreWhat are you unwilling to sacrifice
Scott Miker
We can all look at successful people with envy and wish we could have the success that they enjoyed in their area of focus. Maybe we see someone at our company that has an extremely large salary and think “I wish I made that much!”
Or maybe we see a famous athlete and wish we had the ability to succeed at the pro level and play among the elite. Maybe we see our personal trainer and wish we had abs like he or she has.
Read MoreNobody can do it for you
Scott Miker
Our world is filled with external stimuli. All day long we are interacting with other people, other situations, other places etc.
This makes it easy to give too much control to external sources. We start to think we are powerless and it is up to someone or something else to decide what happens.
Read MoreThe systems and habits approach to improvement relies on default bias
Scott Miker
Using systems to manipulate our own habits in order to get better is a great way to succeed in almost any area. We can use it to help our finances, health, education, career etc.
The reason is simple. The systems and habits approach takes advantage of the automatic response that our mind and body utilize to keep doing things that it feels are working.
Read MoreIt only makes sense in hindsight
Scott Miker
When you utilize the systems and habits approach to improvement, you likely don’t see everything clearly in front of you when you start. Some elements seem easy some seem hard and some seem impossible.
When I first started to improve a few areas of my life I had a very vague idea of where it would lead. I always struggled with having a very clear vision despite reading over and over how important it is to have this vision in the early stages of goal setting.
Read MoreBecome more open to new experiences in order to improve
Scott Miker
Using the systems and habits approach to improvement, we have to be willing to try different, new tactics in order to succeed. We can’t just keep doing what we currently do; otherwise we end up with exactly what we have.
But change can be scary. We are wired to find the dangers first, and then the opportunities second, and only if no danger is present.
Read MoreSelf-improvement isn’t just for those with issues
Scott Miker
There is a false belief that only those people with extreme issues and problems should focus on improvement. I have given many speeches about improvement and reaching goals and I have noticed that many people immediately assume that everyone else needs to listen to the message, but not them.
The reason is simple. It is much easier to see weaknesses in others than in our selves. Most self-improvement focuses on ways to improve upon weaknesses. But there is more than can be gained from self-improvement. We can use it to also grow our strengths.
Read MoreDon’t get fooled by bad habits or someone else’s influence
Scott Miker
We all know what bad habits are. They are smoking, drinking, eating too much, biting our nails etc.
But these aren’t the habits that we use in the systems and habits approach to improvement. The habits that are important to leverage in order to improve are often much more subtle.
Read MoreFinding leverage points in a system and then using them to improve
Scott Miker
Whenever we are manipulating a habit or system, we want to find small things to improve. But it can be tricky to know what to actually do. That is where the systems thinking concept of leverage is important.
Points of leverage in a system are the parts of the system where a small action produces a large outcome. It could be that we leverage time by doing something over and over again until it starts to become a habit. Or it could be to focus on key times when decisions and actions create the most important outcomes.
Read MoreDon’t share your goals with others
Scott Miker
In a lot of motivational and self-help books the authors explain that in order to be accountable for your goals, you have to share them with others.
The idea is that if others are watching then you are more likely to actually do it. And when you struggle, others are more likely to help you keep moving.
Read MoreDon’t assume willpower is the answer
Scott Miker
Too often when we want to change something in our lives to get better, we assume that the answer is that we just have to be tougher. We have to fight against the urges that we know lead us in the wrong direction.
We have to focus. We have to be strong. In short, we have to rely on our willpower in order to succeed and reach our goal.
Read MoreStop assuming effort is the only way to improve
Scott Miker
When it comes to setting goals and trying to get better, most of us inherently gravitate towards effort. We think we just need to put forth more effort in order to succeed.
Effort is important. Without at least some effort any attempt at improvement will likely fail. But because most people only know effort-based execution, they can’t see the horrible limitations that are imposed if all we can do is give more effort.
Read MoreFlawed perspective of good and bad
Scott Miker
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Read MoreSeeing the whole reveals new insights
Scott Miker
Our ability to use systems thinking to see the whole is important. Instead of relying on linear thinking and only seeing small sections of the whole system, we can envision the interrelationships, patterns, structures and mental models.
But why is it that linear thinking tends to guide us towards only a small snapshot of the whole? Why does it become difficult to see the full picture?
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