“The most wisdom per word of any
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3-2-1: On the power of quiet moments, how to make good habits easy, and starting the year with enthusiasm

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday and Happy New Year!

The 2-step process to master your habits this year:

1. ​Read Atomic Habits. The book is on sale for a huge discount right now.
2. ​Download the Atoms app and track your progress. Plus, you'll receive daily lessons to help you stay in the right mindset all year long.

And now, here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week...

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3 Ideas From Me

I.

"Your habits are often a byproduct of convenience. Humans are wired to seek the path of least resistance, which means the most convenient option is often the one that wins. Make good choices more convenient and bad choices less so. Behavior will improve naturally."

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​II.

"Use what you already know. People are so busy searching for a shortcut — or hoping an easier path will reveal itself — they let numerous moments slip by when they could get results simply by doing what is right in front of them."

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III.

"Writing is the superpower of humankind. It is our truest form of magic.

Writing allows you to conjure up something of value where nothing previously existed. It costs little for you to write down the lessons of your life and yet those few minutes spent writing can be life-altering for the right reader. As I once saw it put: "there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words."

Furthermore, writing is the foundation of nearly every technology and innovation because we have to record what we know before we can build upon it. And these innovations are passed down from generation to generation, allowing our children to inherit a richer intellectual fortune than what we were born into. The world is richer because we write and nobody is made poorer in the process."

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2 Quotes From Others

I.

Writer Susan Sontag on finding the courage to change this year:

"I must change my life so that I can live it, not wait for it."

Source: Reborn: Journals and Notebooks​​​

​II.

Charles Hayward, a cabinet maker and editor of The Woodworker magazine, on starting the year with enthusiasm:

"There is a dynamic quality about enthusiasm which nothing can resist. You can see it in the street orator, whose whole heart is in his argument, swaying a crowd. You can feel it in the work of any artist—painter, writer, musician, or whatever he be—if he has put himself into the thing he has wrought in, felt it enough, suffered it enough. And the beginning of the year is a good time, it seems to me, to set about enkindling our enthusiasm afresh. For life is a dead thing without it. Make it woodwork, if our tastes lie in that direction; make it stamp collecting; make it anything in the wide world so long as it is alive and vital."

Source: "A New Year Spirit," Woodworker Magazine (1938)

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1 Question For You

Bad things are always happening loudly: the injury, the flat tire, the mistake that gets you criticized. Everybody talks about the moments that make things a hassle.

Good things are always happening quietly: the completed workout, the healthy meal, the ten minutes of writing. Nobody talks about the little moments that add up.

What good things have you done quietly today?

Want to share this issue of 3-2-1? Just copy and paste this link: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/january-2-2025

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Until next week,

James Clear ​​
​Author of Atomic Habits​
Creator of the 3-2-1 Newsletter​
Founding Author of Authors Equity​

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p.s. My diet this holiday season. ​​

What else am I working on?