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3-2-1: On enjoying your own company, what drives change, and editing your habits

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday!

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week...

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3 Ideas From Me

I.

"There are many elements of living a good life, but the first and most foundational is to love yourself and enjoy spending time with yourself.

Go do things on your own so you learn to trust your mind and view it as a welcome companion. If someone declared, "Tomorrow you must spend the day alone" the hope is that you would reply, "That sounds like a good day!"

The person who is at ease within finds every other space larger and more enjoyable."

​II.

"As far as I can tell, every great advance — whether in an individual life or the world at large — has come from dreams and attempts.

Devise more dreams. Make more attempts."

III.

A philosophy I heard recently and have found useful:

"We look for reasons to say yes and only say no when we have to."

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2 Quotes From Others

I.

Writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley on the precursor to change:

"Change is only possible through movement."

Source: The Art of Seeing​​​

​II.

Novelist Anne Lamott on the power of reading:

"Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship."

Source: Bird by Bird

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1 Question For You

If your partner or close friend could change one habit of yours, what would they choose — and why might they be right?

Want to share this issue of 3-2-1? Just copy and paste this link: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/july-24-2025

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Until next week,

James Clear ​​
​Author of Atomic Habits​
Cofounder of Authors Equity​

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p.s. Robin Hood always has work to do. ​​

What else am I working on?