Starting a series of book-sharing, this time introducing the book that has had the most profound impact on me - The Compound Effect.
Firstly, how I came across this book: on of my side-hustle partners from my undergraduate days set a goal to read 10 books during the summer break. However, until the last half of the month, he had only finished two books, and one of them was this book. Inspired by it, he made a decision and ultimately achieved his goal within the same month. Consequently, everyone on the team started reading this book, and it even became one of the recommended readings for new team members.
My takeaways and evaluation of the book: It delves deep into the concept of momentum.
- Compound Effect: The book presents another example of the compound effect beyond the common notion of gaining 1% every day. It tells the story of the Magic Penny, where you have the choice to either receive $3 million directly or receive 1 cent on the first day, 2 cents on the second day, doubling each day for a month. On the 10th day, you would only have $5.12. By the 20th day, you'd have $5,243. However, on the 30th day, you would have close to $5.37 million. (Of course, there's a satirical version of the story where the cents are replaced with rice, and those who chose compound interest starved because of too little rice in the initial days.)
- Momentum: The book uses the analogy of a water pump to explain habit formation. Just like pulling the lever up and down on a water pump to raise the water level, establishing habits in the initial days is similar. Pressing the handle once, pausing, the water level goes up a bit, and then it falls back down. Only by continuously pressing, when the water level reaches a certain point, water starts flowing. If you stop, the water disappears, and you need to exert a lot of effort to start again, essentially going back to the first day. The key is to utilize momentum by doing consistently. If you do something every day, like brushing your teeth or other routines, you don't need to expend mental energy deciding whether to do it; momentum helps you automatically. Some might ask, what if I want to develop the habit of reading; should I set a goal to read half an hour every day and enforce it? The answer is no. You can be smart and simply read a line, a paragraph, or stop when you have insights, treating it as a maintenance cheat day. You don't need to put in a lot of effort to raise the water level, but you can save some energy to prevent it from falling.
- Decision-making: Life is built on decisions big and small. If an airplane from NY deviates 5 degrees from its course, it might end up in Los Angeles instead of the intended destination, Seattle. You can choose to start a habit using the concepts mentioned above, or you can choose not to make any changes. The difference might not be apparent in the short term, but I believe that this tiny difference will lead to different lives among the 4,000 weeks we have in a lifetime.
My journey with this book: As it was my first English book and I was just starting to cultivate the habit of reading, coupled with my limited English proficiency at the time, it took me about half a year to finish. However, I followed the principle of momentum in my reading. Sometimes I would read a small section every day, feel inspired and appreciative, and then close the book. Despite the slow pace, the content of the book, even after five years, is still vividly remembered, except for the challenge of recalling 2 to the power of 9, 19, and 29.
Impact of this book on me: The title says it all. Once momentum kicked in, reading seamlessly became a part of my life. I pick up a book and start reading wherever I am, regardless of the environment. Early morning workouts also benefited from applying the concept of momentum. If I couldn't do a full workout in the morning, I would do some simple stretches to maintain momentum. Also, through the efforts of compounding, I went from being unable to hold a plank for 20 seconds to holding it for 4 minutes, even though I'm still a bit overweight due to my love for Chinese food.
