--- title: Atomic Habits author: Ben type: quotes date: 2022-03-18T21:05:55+00:00 url: /quotes/atomic-habits/ --- ‘Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.’ ‘…the word identity was originally derived from the Latin word essentitas, which means being, and identidem, which means repeatedly. Your identity is literally your “repeated beingness.”‘ ‘Social skills. When I walk into a party, I will introduce myself to someone I don’t know yet.’ ‘One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.’ ‘I refer to this as the difference between being in motion and taking action. The two ideas sound similar, but they’re not the same. When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome. If I outline twenty ideas for articles I want to write, that’s motion. If I actually sit down and write an article, that’s action. If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that’s motion. If I actually eat a healthy meal, that’s action. Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn’t matter how many times you go talk to the personal trainer, that motion will never get you in shape. Only the action of working out will get the result you’re looking to achieve.’ ‘The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.’ ‘After this initial period of exploration, shift your focus to the best solution you’ve found—but keep experimenting occasionally. The proper balance depends on whether you’re winning or losing. If you are currently winning, you exploit, exploit, exploit. If you are currently losing, you continue to explore, explore, explore.’ ‘People get so caught up in the fact that they have limits that they rarely exert the effort required to get close to them.’ ‘HABITS CREATE THE FOUNDATION FOR MASTERY.’