Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, page 24
onetime actions that lead to better long-term habits: James Clear (@james_clear), “What are one-time actions that pay off again and again in the future?” Twitter, February 11, 2018, https://twitter.com/james_clear/status/962694722702790659
“Civilization advances by extending the number of operations”: Alfred North Whitehead, Introduction to Mathematics (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1911), 166.
The average person spends over two hours per day on social media: “GWI Social,” GlobalWebIndex, 2017, Q3, https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/304927/Downloads/GWI%20Social%20Summary%20Q3%202017.pdf.
CHAPTER 15
over nine million people called it home: “Population Size and Growth of Major Cities, 1998 Census,” Population Census Organization, http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20SIZE%20AND%20GROWTH%20OF%20MAJOR%20CITIES.pdf.
Over 60 percent of Karachi’s residents: Sabiah Askari, Studies on Karachi: Papers Presented at the Karachi Conference 2013 (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2015).
It was this public health crisis that had brought Stephen Luby to Pakistan: Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (Gurgaon, India: Penguin Random House, 2014).
“In Pakistan, Safeguard was a premium soap”: All quotes in this section are from an email conversation with Stephen Luby on May 28, 2018.
The rate of diarrhea fell by 52 percent: Stephen P. Luby et al., “Effect of Handwashing on Child Health: A Randomised Controlled Trial,” Lancet 366, no. 9481 (2005), doi:10.1016/s0140–6736(05)66912–7.
“Over 95 percent of households”: Anna Bowen, Mubina Agboatwalla, Tracy Ayers, Timothy Tobery, Maria Tariq, and Stephen P. Luby. “Sustained improvements in handwashing indicators more than 5 years after a cluster‐randomised, community‐based trial of handwashing promotion in Karachi, Pakistan,” Tropical Medicine & International Health 18, no. 3 (2013): 259–267. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4626884/
Chewing gum had been sold commercially throughout the 1800s: Mary Bellis, “How We Have Bubble Gum Today,” ThoughtCo, October 16, 2017, https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-bubble-and-chewing-gum-1991856.
Wrigley revolutionized the industry: Jennifer P. Mathews, Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, from the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2009), 44–46.
Wrigley became the largest chewing gum company: “William Wrigley, Jr.,” Encyclopædia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wrigley-Jr, accessed June 8, 2018.
Toothpaste had a similar trajectory: Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (New York: Random House, 2014), chap. 2.
he started avoiding her: Sparkly_alpaca, “What Are the Coolest Psychology Tricks That You Know or Have Used?” Reddit, November 11, 2016, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5cgqbj/what_are_the_coolest_psychology_tricks_that_you/d9wcqsr/.
The earliest remains of modern humans: Ian Mcdougall, Francis H. Brown, and John G. Fleagle, “Stratigraphic Placement and Age of Modern Humans from Kibish, Ethiopia,” Nature 433, no. 7027 (2005), doi:10.1038/nature03258.
the neocortex . . . was roughly the same: Some research indicates that the size of the human brain reached modern proportions around three hundred thousand years ago. Evolution never stops, of course, and the shape of the structure appears to have continued to evolve in meaningful ways until it reached both modern size and shape sometime between one hundred thousand and thirty-five thousand years ago. Simon Neubauer, Jean-Jacques Hublin, and Philipp Gunz, “The Evolution of Modern Human Brain Shape,” Science Advances 4, no. 1 (2018): eaao5961.
society has shifted to a predominantly delayed-return environment: The original research on this topic used the terms delayed-return societies and immediate-return societies. James Woodburn, “Egalitarian Societies,” Man 17, no. 3 (1982), doi:10.2307/2801707. I first heard of the difference between immediate-return environments and delayed-return environments in a lecture from Mark Leary. Mark Leary, Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior (Chantilly, VA: Teaching, 2012).
The world has changed much in recent years: The rapid environmental changes of recent centuries have far outpaced our biological ability to adapt. On average, it takes about twenty-five thousand years for meaningful genetic changes to be selected for in a human population. For more, see Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1980), 151.
our brains evolved to prefer quick payoffs to long-term ones: Daniel Gilbert, “Humans Wired to Respond to Short-Term Problems,” interview by Neal Conan, Talk of the Nation, NPR, July 3, 2006, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5530483.
Disease and infection won’t show up for days or weeks, even years: The topics of irrational behavior and cognitive biases have become quite popular in recent years. However, many actions that seem irrational on the whole have rational origins if you consider their immediate outcome.
Frédéric Bastiat: Frédéric Bastiat and W. B. Hodgson, What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen: Or Political Economy in One Lesson (London: Smith, 1859).
Future You: Hat tip to behavioral economist Daniel Goldstein, who said, “It’s an unequal battle between the present self and the future self. I mean, let’s face it, the present self is present. It’s in control. It’s in power right now. It has these strong, heroic arms that can lift doughnuts into your mouth. And the future self is not even around. It’s off in the future. It’s weak. It doesn’t even have a lawyer present. There’s nobody to stick up for the future self. And so the present self can trounce all over its dreams.” For more, see Daniel Goldstein, “The Battle between Your Present and Future Self,” TEDSalon NY2011, November 2011, video, https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goldstein_the_battle_between_your_present_and_future_self.
People who are better at delaying gratification have higher SAT scores: Walter Mischel, Ebbe B. Ebbesen, and Antonette Raskoff Zeiss, “Cognitive and Attentional Mechanisms in Delay of Gratification,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 21, no. 2 (1972), doi:10.1037/h0032198; W. Mischel, Y. Shoda, and M. Rodriguez, “Delay of Gratification in Children,” Science 244, no. 4907 (1989), doi:10.1126/science.2658056; Walter Mischel, Yuichi Shoda, and Philip K. Peake, “The Nature of Adolescent Competencies Predicted by Preschool Delay of Gratification,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, no. 4 (1988), doi:10.1037//0022–3514.54.4.687; Yuichi Shoda, Walter Mischel, and Philip K. Peake, “Predicting Adolescent Cognitive and Self-Regulatory Competencies from Preschool Delay of Gratification: Identifying Diagnostic Conditions,” Developmental Psychology 26, no. 6 (1990), doi:10.1037//0012–1649.26.6.978.
CHAPTER 16
“I would start with 120 paper clips in one jar”: Trent Dyrsmid, email to author, April 1, 2015.
Benjamin Franklin: Benjamin Franklin and Frank Woodworth Pine, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (New York: Holt, 1916), 148.
Don’t break the chain of creating every day: Shout-out to my friend Nathan Barry, who originally inspired me with the mantra, “Create Every Day.”
people who track their progress on goals like losing weight: Benjamin Harkin et al., “Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-analysis of the Experimental Evidence,” Psychological Bulletin 142, no. 2 (2016), doi:10.1037/bul0000025.
those who kept a daily food log lost twice as much weight as those who did not: Miranda Hitti, “Keeping Food Diary Helps Lose Weight,” WebMD, July 8, 2008, http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20080708/keeping-food-diary-helps-lose-weight; Kaiser Permanente, “Keeping a Food Diary Doubles Diet Weight Loss, Study Suggests,” Science Daily, July 8, 2008, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708080738.htm; Jack F. Hollis et al., “Weight Loss during the Intensive Intervention Phase of the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 35, no. 2 (2008), doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.04.013; Lora E. Burke, Jing Wang, and Mary Ann Sevick, “Self-Monitoring in Weight Loss: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 111, no. 1 (2011), doi:10.1016/j.jada.2010.10.008.
The most effective form of motivation is progress: This line is paraphrased from Greg McKeown, who wrote, “Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation the most effective one is progress.” Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Currency, 2014).
The first mistake is never the one that ruins you: In fact, research has shown that missing a habit once has virtually no impact on the odds of developing a habit over the long-term, regardless of when the mistake occurs. As long as you get back on track, you’re fine. See: Phillippa Lally et al., “How Are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World,” European Journal of Social Psychology 40, no. 6 (2009), doi:10.1002/ejsp.674.
Missing once is an accident: “Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.” I swear I read this line somewhere or perhaps paraphrased it from something similar, but despite my best efforts all of my searches for a source are coming up empty. Maybe I came up with it, but my best guess is it belongs to an unidentified genius instead.
“When a measure becomes a target”: This definition of Goodhart’s Law was actually formulated by the British anthropologist Marilyn Strathern. “‘Improving Ratings’: Audit in the British University System,” European Review 5 (1997): 305–321, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/article/improving-ratings-audit-in-the-british-university-system/FC2EE640C0C44E3DB87C29FB666E9AAB. Goodhart himself reportedly advanced the idea sometime around 1975 and put it formally into writing in 1981. Charles Goodhart, “Problems of Monetary Management: The U.K. Experience,” in Anthony S. Courakis (ed.), Inflation, Depression, and Economic Policy in the West (London: Rowman and Littlefield, 1981), 111–146.
CHAPTER 17
“When I suggested this to friends in the Pentagon”: Roger Fisher, “Preventing Nuclear War,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 37, no. 3 (1981), doi:10.1080/00963402.1981.11458828.
The first seat belt law: Michael Goryl and Michael Cynecki, “Restraint System Usage in the Traffic Population,” Journal of Safety Research 17, no. 2 (1986), doi:10.1016/0022–4375(86)90107–6.
wearing a seat belt is enforceable by law: New Hampshire is the lone exception, where seat belts are only required for children. “New Hampshire,” Governors Highway Safety Association, https://www.ghsa.org/state-laws/states/new%20hampshire, accessed June 8, 2016.
over 88 percent of Americans buckled up: “Seat Belt Use in U.S. Reaches Historic 90 Percent,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, November 21, 2016, https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/seat-belt-use-us-reaches-historic-90-percent.
Bryan Harris: Bryan Harris, email conversation with author, October 24, 2017.
She does the “song a day” challenge: Courtney Shea, “Comedian Margaret Cho’s Tips for Success: If You’re Funny, Don’t Do Comedy,” Globe and Mail, July 1, 2013, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/comedian-margaret-chos-tips-for-success-if-youre-funny-dont-do-comedy/article12902304/?service=mobile.
Thomas Frank, an entrepreneur in Boulder, Colorado: Thomas Frank, “How Buffer Forces Me to Wake Up at 5:55 AM Every Day,” College Info Geek, July 2, 2014, https://collegeinfogeek.com/early-waking-with-buffer/.
CHAPTER 18
Phelps has won more Olympic medals: “Michael Phelps Biography,” Biography, https://www.biography.com/people/michael-phelps-345192, last modified March 29, 2018.
El Guerrouj: Doug Gillan, “El Guerrouj: The Greatest of All Time,” IAFF, November 15, 2004, https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/el-guerrouj-the-greatest-of-all-time.
they differ significantly in height: Heights and weights for Michael Phelps and Hicham El Guerrouj were pulled from their athlete profiles during the 2008 Summer Olympics. “Michael Phelps,” ESPN, 2008, http://www.espn.com/olympics/summer08/fanguide/athlete?athlete=29547l; “Hicham El Guerrouj,” ESPN, 2008, http://www.espn.com/oly/summer08/fanguide/athlete?athlete=29886.
same length inseam on their pants: David Epstein, The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance (St. Louis, MO: Turtleback Books, 2014).
average height of Olympic gold medalists in the men’s 1,500-meter run: Alex Hutchinson, “The Incredible Shrinking Marathoner,” Runner’s World, November 12, 2013, https://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/the-incredible-shrinking-marathoner.
average height of Olympic gold medalists in the men’s 100-meter: Alvin Chang, “Want to Win Olympic Gold? Here’s How Tall You Should Be for Archery, Swimming, and More,” Vox, August 9, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/8/9/12387684/olympic-heights.
“Genes can predispose, but they don’t predetermine”: Gabor Maté, “Dr. Gabor Maté—New Paradigms, Ayahuasca, and Redefining Addiction,” The Tim Ferriss Show, February 20, 2018, https://tim.blog/2018/02/20/gabor-mate/.
Genes have been shown to influence everything: “All traits are heritable” is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Concrete behavioral traits that patently depend on content provided by the home or culture are, of course, not heritable at all; which language you speak, which religion you worship in, which political party you belong to. But behavioral traits that reflect the underlying talents and temperaments are heritable: how proficient with language you are, how religious, how liberal or conservative. General intelligence is heritable, and so are the five major ways in which personality can vary . . . openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion-introversion, antagonism-agreeableness, and neuroticism. And traits that are surprisingly specific turn out to be heritable, too, such as dependence on nicotine or alcohol, number of hours of television watched, and likelihood of divorcing. Thomas J. Bouchard, “Genetic Influence on Human Psychological Traits,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 13, no. 4 (2004), doi:10.1111/j.0963–7214.2004.00295.x; Robert Plomin, Nature and Nurture: An Introduction to Human Behavioral Genetics (Stamford, CT: Wadsworth, 1996); Robert Plomin, “Why We’re Different,” Edge, June 29, 2016, https://soundcloud.com/edgefoundationinc/edge2016-robert-plomin.
There’s a strong genetic component: Daniel Goleman, “Major Personality Study Finds That Traits Are Mostly Inherited,” New York Times, December 2, 1986, http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/02/science/major-personality-study-finds-that-traits-are-mostly-inherited.html?pagewanted=all.
Robert Plomin: Robert Plomin, phone call with the author, August 9, 2016.
more likely to become introverts: Jerome Kagan et al., “Reactivity in Infants: A Cross-National Comparison,” Developmental Psychology 30, no. 3 (1994), doi:10.1037//0012–1649.30.3.342; Michael V. Ellis and Erica S. Robbins, “In Celebration of Nature: A Dialogue with Jerome Kagan,” Journal of Counseling and Development 68, no. 6 (1990), doi:10.1002/j.1556–6676.1990.tb01426.x; Brian R. Little, Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being (New York: Public Affairs, 2016); Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking (London: Penguin, 2013), 99–100.
People who are high in agreeableness: W. G. Graziano and R. M. Tobin, “The Cognitive and Motivational Foundations Underlying Agreeableness,” in M. D. Robinson, E. Watkins, and E. Harmon-Jones, eds., Handbook of Cognition and Emotion (New York: Guilford, 2013), 347–364.
They also tend to have higher natural oxytocin levels: Mitsuhiro Matsuzaki et al., “Oxytocin: A Therapeutic Target for Mental Disorders,” Journal of Physiological Sciences 62, no. 6 (2012), doi:10.1007/s12576–012–0232–9; Angeliki Theodoridou et al., “Oxytocin and Social Perception: Oxytocin Increases Perceived Facial Trustworthiness and Attractiveness,” Hormones and Behavior 56, no. 1 (2009), doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.03.019; Anthony Lane et al., “Oxytocin Increases Willingness to Socially Share One’s Emotions,” International Journal of Psychology 48, no. 4 (2013), doi:10.1080/00207594.2012.677540; Christopher Cardoso et al., “Stress-Induced Negative Mood Moderates the Relation between Oxytocin Administration and Trust: Evidence for the Tend-and-Befriend Response to Stress?” Psychoneuroendocrinology 38, no. 11 (2013), doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.05.006.
hypersensitivity of the amygdala: J. Ormel, A. Bastiaansen, H. Riese, E. H. Bos, M. Servaas, M. Ellenbogen, J. G. Rosmalen, and A. Aleman, “The Biological and Psychological Basis of Neuroticism: Current Status and Future Directions,” Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 37, no. 1 (2013), doi:10.1016/j.neu biorev.2012.09.004. PMID 23068306; R. A. Depue and Y. Fu, “Neurogenetic and Experiential Processes Underlying Major Personality Traits: Implications for Modelling Personality Disorders,” International Review of Psychiatry 23, no. 3 (2011), doi:10.3109/09540261.2011.599315.
Our deeply rooted preferences make certain behaviors easier: “For example, all people have brain systems that respond to rewards, but in different individuals these systems will respond with different degrees of vigor to a particular reward, and the systems’ average level of response may be associated with some personality trait.” For more, see Colin G. Deyoung, “Personality Neuroscience and the Biology of Traits,” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4, no. 12 (2010), doi:10.1111/j.1751–9004.2010.00327.x.
If your friend follows a low-carb diet: Research conducted in major randomized clinical trials shows no difference in low-carb versus low-fat diets for weight loss. As with many habits, there are many ways to the same destination if you stick with it. For more, see Christopher D. Gardner et al., “Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association with Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion,” Journal of the American Medical Association 319, no. 7 (2018), doi:10.1001/jama.2018.0245.
explore/exploit trade-off: M. A. Addicott et al., “A Primer on Foraging and the Explore/Exploit Trade-Off for Psychiatry Research,” Neuropsychopharmacology 42, no. 10 (2017), doi:10.1038/npp.2017.108.
