Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

  • February 10, 2020

By Kelly Smith

One of the keys for success in volleyball, and life itself, is the ability to build good habits and break bad ones. In his New York Times Bestseller, Atomic Habits, author James Clear shows the reader exactly how to do that. Moreover, he makes a compelling case as to why tiny changes can make a big difference.

Author Clear feels that habits are “the compound interest of self-improvement”. Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run. Small changes often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold. Choosing a salad instead of a cheeseburger for lunch may appear to make no difference when you look in the mirror the next day but repeat this decision over and over and it makes an enormous difference over time. When you develop good habit, time is on your side and time is working for you, Clear argues. Performing any skill in volleyball 70 percent correct instead of 100 percent correct not only reinforces a bad habit, it robs the athlete of getting to the point where they perform the skill perfectly every time, by habit.

An atomic habit, as Clear describes, is a little habit that is part of a larger system. He says that just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results.

Next time we will learn why Clear argues that if you want better results, you need to forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead. We will also learn that you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Kelly Smith is an award winning teacher and coach. He is the founder of the Pakmen Volleyball Club.