Circle of Trust

The term get 1% better is always thrown around and I always thought that I was getting 1% better just because I was posting every day, (something I wasn’t doing say 3 years ago).  Well I just started 75 hard on Easter Sunday, and I started reading Atomic Habits that was recommended by Dilly Dilly.  Reading this book so far has giving me a better understanding and meaning of getting 1% better.  The start of the book talks about how professional cyclists in Great Britain had endured nearly one hundred years of mediocrity, they’ve never won the tour de france and had only won 1 gold medal in the olympics since 1908.  They hired a new coach that implemented “the aggregation of marginal gains,” which was the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do. They began by making small adjustments they redesigned the bike seats to make them more comfortable and rubbed alcohol on the tires for a better grip. They asked riders to wear electrically heated overshorts to maintain ideal muscle temperature while riding, team tested various fabrics in a wind tunnel, his team continued to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas. They tested different types of massage gels to see which one led to the fastest muscle recovery.  They determined the type of pillow and mattress that led to the best night’s sleep for each rider. They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes.  Years after making these small adjustments they began to win to the point where they won five Tour de France victories in what is widely regarded as the most successful run in cycling history.

The book discussed forming habits, changing behaviours and changing your identity, you start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity ie. The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner. The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician.

I’m glad that I picked up this book at the beginning of 75 hard, it’s changed my mindset entering into 75 hard where my initial goal was to loose weight and now it has become to change my habits, behaviour and identity.

I highly recommend the book to anyone else looking to make improvements in their life.