Books in Conversation: ATOMIC HABITS vs. 101 ESSAYS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

1. I could have sworn I once read (from a reputable source) that willpower is essentially a myth.

2. I thought I read that in ATOMIC HABITS, so I searched James Clear's blog to see what he's written on the subject, and it turns out I didn't remember it exactly right.

3. I'm not surprised I thought I remembered it the way I did, because I love the idea of things being Not My Fault.

4. In 101 ESSAYS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK, Brianna Wiest posits that there are many creative people who do not make it in their field of creativity because they do not have the willpower it takes to cultivate a daily creative practice, whether it's writing or music or anything else.

5. James Clear says that it takes the most willpower to start something, but if you can turn it into a habit, it becomes easier. "Objects in motion tend to stay in motion," he says. I think the actual law of physics is more absolute, but I understand why Clear says it the way he does.

6. A law of k8 physics is that I will only do something if I can check it off a list.

7. I will be one of the ones that makes it. It has taken me years to make writing a habit, but I have many more years ahead of me.

8. The first draft of this post was really boring.

9. Watch me make it.

2.26.2024