Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but, as the votes build up, so will the evidence of your new identity.
---James Clear
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear spells out a philosophy of daily living that elevates becoming someone new over goal setting. According to him, personal transformation comes about over the course of time as small habits are accumulated, the whole process being an incremental one. While I don't discard the usefulness of establishing goals and personal milestones for the future, I fully recognize Clear's emphasis on taking hold of my present moment and living it fully according to my own sense of personal identity...that is, the person I am becoming. Being aware continuously of my own attitudes and behavior in the now does not automatically entail me being perfect...who is...but it does establish a system of personal feedback and evaluation that can steer me back on the right course should I stray from who I am becoming. Just as in an election the winner usually has many who vote the other way, the victory comes, as James Clear maintains, in the amassed effect of positive, productive, healthful and loving small actions. Do I screw up? Lots of times, but as I grow, I am more quickly and acutely aware of those moments, while equipped with the truth that I can use them for correction and enlightenment...
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