The book I was going to pick was Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins.
Instead I'm going to talk about Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Where do bad habits come from?
I think we all struggle with focus and motivation, and at the root of it all, it comes down to our habits — the healthy ones and more importantly, the unhealthy ones.
I've always been very process-oriented. My major was industrial engineering, which is about the processes behind engineering.
In Atomic Habits, Clear breaks down the issues of our subconscious. The whole point of the subconscious is that it doesn’t think — it just acts.
The book explains why we develop certain bad habits and where they originate. It turns out that a lot come from the location we're in and the people we surround ourselves with. It’s a reminder to surround yourself with people who have the habits you aspire to build.
Typically, I’ve been an extroverted individual and have befriended many people. I wish my younger self had known how important it is to be more selective about the friends you spend time with during college. I know that I definitely could have spent more time in the books instead of going out. I still got good grades, but I feel like I left something on the table.
Now that I'm an adult, an entrepreneur, and my own boss, working my own hours, it's really hard to achieve everything I want to achieve. It’s why I picked up this book.
Write down your goals
Atomic Habits breaks down your day — from when you wake up to when you go to bed — laying out the steps you need to take to reach your goals. It starts with just writing things out. It’s about bringing the subconscious into the conscious.
I'm very motivated after recently reading this book. I feel like that happens to me a lot. I read a book, I'm motivated, and somehow life gets in the way, and I forget about it.
That's why I'm being so diligent about writing things down and trying to be as productive as possible. It's hard. I read that our brains produce more dopamine from thinking about doing something than the dopamine we get when we actually do that thing.
I have goals. I want a million subscribers; I want to win a Main Event. My brain releases more dopamine just by picturing those two things and visualizing them than it would if I actually achieved even one of those goals.
That’s crazy! However, it makes sense why we all get stuck right there, when we just do the planning stage and don't actually take any action.
‘It all comes down to action’ – Frankie C
By learning this, I’ve been truly motivated. I want to learn Chinese and become fluent — especially since I’m now living in Taiwan. I really want to have the YouTube channel that I’ve always desired. But I haven't been as consistent as I needed to be with uploads.
It all comes down to action, planning, and putting yourself in the right location. I've done pretty well recently. I don't really waste time drinking or going out a lot. I’ve cut that out of my life.
Now I'm just hoping that, at some point, all my habits will push me toward the goals — to be a great poker player and a great YouTuber.
Don’t just take my word for it — Atomic Habits is a great book and I highly recommend it.
Frankie C is a professional poker player and filmmaker based in Taiwan. He’s on a mission to make poker a spectacle. Follow him on X, Instagram and YouTube and order the new All-In Brownie Frankie created here.
Additional image courtesy of JamesClear.com.
