The Compound Effect Can Either Build You or Kill You

From James Clear’s book Atomic Habits

Both ancient and modern history can agree on this: the compound effect can either build you or kill you.

In the present-day, scholars and authors attest that daily and consistent steps in the same direction can unlock success in any field. In Darren Hardy's New York Times bestseller The Compound Effect, he talks about the importance of a daily routine:

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

Ancient wisdom also reveals with aplomb that small steps in the same direction can have negative ramifications. In nineteenth-century philosophical theologian Franz Brentano's work On the Several Senses of Being in Aristotle, he discusses how small errors compound:

“What is at first small is often extremely large in the end. And so it happens that whoever deviates only a little from truth in the beginning is led farther and farther afield in the sequel, and to errors which are a thousand times as large.”

So one can reasonably deduce that success is never the result of a single good decision; no, success is the result of a series of good decisions over time. Hence, the compound effect.

A successful company is not successful because of a single good decision, but because of a series of good decisions over time. A healthy body is not healthy because of a single good decision, but because of a series of good decisions over time. An increasing bank account is not increasing because of a single good decision, but because of a series of good decisions over time.

When you consistently make good decisions, your future self will be grateful.

These repetitions are fascinating illustrations of great initial value and compound interest. The more you repeat something, the greater the value is of the first step.

If you are in a long-term relationship, then the value of that first date is great. If you are in excellent physical shape, then the value of that first workout is great. If you are the founder of a successful company, then the value of that first board meeting is great.

Find a good thing, repeat it for the long haul, and that first step will continue to compound.

Find a bad thing, repeat it for the long haul, and that first step will also continue to compound.

The compound effect can either build you or kill you. How is it affecting you?