Our bad decisions may seem insubstantial in the short term but if repeated can compound over the long term
Although we tend to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the effect of small actions on a daily basis, the slow pace of transformation also makes it easy to let a bad habit slide. If you eat an unhealthy meal today, the scale doesn’t move much. If you procrastinate and put your project off until tomorrow, there will usually be time to finish it later. Etc. A single decision is easy to dismiss. But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results. It’s the accumulation of many missteps—a 1 percent decline here and there—that eventually leads to a problem.
References
- Clear, James. (2018). Atomic Habits Chapter 1. The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits (Location 236). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
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Type:🔴 Tags: Psychology / Self-improvement Status:☀️