Copy Work 3 - James Clear
This next copy working exercise is selected from James Clear's book Atomic Habits. This book has been very helpful for me in personal development. I recommend it to everyone I can and I will be writing some other posts to summarize and reflect upon the the chapters.
In this chapter, James was previously describing methods to develop your own system for meeting goals. In this excerpt, he describes a common mental trap that commonly associated with goals.
Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.
The implicit assumption behind any goal is this, "Once I reach my goal, then I'll be happy." The problem with this goals-first mentality is that you're continually putting happiness off until the next milestone. I've slipped into this trap so many times, I've lost count. Happiness was something for my future self to enjoy. I promised myself that once I gained twenty pounds of muscle or my business was featured in the New York Times, then I could finally relax.
Copy work reflections
This was a nice exercise. James writes in a very clear style (his punny name must be an alias), perfect for developing my own writing. Some of my errors in the exercise:
- I wrote "mindset" vs James's "mentality" (not a word I use often)
- "putting off happiness" vs "putting happiness off"
- "..., I could be happy" vs "..., then I could finally relax"
The first two points are functionally equivalent and stylistic choices. The third correction, however, is interesting. The statement implies relaxation equals happiness. This phrase choice appears minor, but is a significant point.
Relaxation = Happiness?
When I am relaxed and with low stress, I am frequently more productive, energetic, and healthy. Then, I desire to pursue the structures and habits to continue in this healthy rhythm. I find contentment by enjoying the building of these positive daily rhythms.
I really want to dive into the physiological connections between physical and mental health (as well as spiritual health), but this subject deserves its own series of posts.
For now, I am enjoying digging into into these types of self-reflective excerpts—--they remind me to enjoy the journey, not the just the goals.