Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

The most effective form of motivation is progress
: This line is paraphrased from Greg McKeown,
who wrote, “Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation the most effective one
is progress.” Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (Currency, 2014).
The first mistake is never the one that ruins you
: In fact, research has shown that missing a habit
once has virtually no impact on the odds of developing a habit over the long-term, regardless
of when the mistake occurs. As long as you get back on track, you’re fine. See: Phillippa
Lally et al., “How Are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World,”
European Journal of Social Psychology 40, no. 6 (2009), doi:10.1002/ejsp.674.
Missing once is an accident
: “Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new
habit.” I swear I read this line somewhere or perhaps paraphrased it from something similar,
but despite my best efforts all of my searches for a source are coming up empty. Maybe I
came up with it, but my best guess is it belongs to an unidentified genius instead.
“When a measure becomes a target”
: This definition of Goodhart’s Law was actually formulated
by the British anthropologist Marilyn Strathern. “‘Improving Ratings’: Audit in the British
University System,” European Review 5 (1997): 305–321,
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/article/improving-ratings-audit-in-
the-british-university-system/FC2EE640C0C44E3DB87C29FB666E9AAB
. Goodhart himself
reportedly advanced the idea sometime around 1975 and put it formally into writing in 1981.
Charles Goodhart, “Problems of Monetary Management: The U.K. Experience,” in Anthony
S. Courakis (ed.), Inflation, Depression, and Economic Policy in the West (London: Rowman
and Littlefield, 1981), 111–146.

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