I am gonna assume that James Clear is a very intellectual, hugely insightful and really nice chap. I don’t know him, I never met him.
He wrote a brilliant book called Atomic Habits. You probably read it, but if you’re one of the seven people in the world who hasn’t, here’s the basic summary.
If you focus on small, consistent habits that allow you to improve 1% per day, you can radically transform your life.
Now here’s my take on it.
It’s complete bullshit.
The Math Works. The Logic Doesn’t.
From a mathematical perspective, the 1% principle makes sense. It simply takes the concept of compound growth and applies it to daily habits. It’s fifth grade algebra. Improving by 1% every day is one to the 365th power, which results in a 37.7% increase at the end of the year.
The math works. And that’s all fine and nice. But there’s a very big and hugely incorrect assumption with his premise. It’s this:
