Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
Habits are a transformative part of our lives.
Small habits, multiplied, and stacked on top of each other, are an immense source of result in our lives.
When we develop and improve our habits, and realise their potential, the quality of our life improves.
🎨 Impressions
This was overall a great self-development book and a comprehensive, overview on habits and there impact in our lives. This book is packed with actionable insights and takeaways to start improving our life immediately.
How I Discovered It
This book has been highly recommended to me for so long and is a known as a must-read in the self-development space.
Who Should Read It?
Anyone who does not appreciate the transformative effect of small changes and habits in their lives. Those wanting to start changing there life but is unsure where to start or who doesn't yet have the motivation to start.
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
The quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.
You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
📒 Summary + Notes
What is an Atomic Habit
Atomic habits are are part of a larger system. Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results. Habits are like the atoms of our lives. Each one is a fundamental unit that contributes to your overall improvement.
At first, these tiny routines seem insignificant, but soon they build on each other and fuel bigger wins that multiply to a degree that far outweighs the cost of their initial investment. They are both small and mighty.
This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits—a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do, but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
The Power of Atomic Habits
Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
The quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.
While science supports everything I’ve written, this book is not an academic research paper; it’s an operating manual.
Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.
Here’s how the math works out: if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
Unfortunately, the slow pace of transformation also makes it easy to let a bad habit slide.
But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results. It’s the accumulation of many missteps—a 1 percent decline here and there—that eventually leads to a problem.
Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.
You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.
All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time. But
Forget Goals, Focus on the System
“The score takes care of itself.” The same is true for other areas of life. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals.
Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.
Problem #2: Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.
Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.
Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.
“Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy.” The problem with a goals-first mentality is that you’re continually putting happiness off until the next milestone. “either-or” conflict: either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and you are a disappointment. You mentally box yourself into a narrow version of happiness.
Problem #4: Goals are at odds with long-term progress.
A goal-oriented mind-set can create a “yo-yo” effect. Many runners work hard for months, but as soon as they cross the finish line, they stop training. The race is no longer there to motivate them. When all of your hard work is focused on a particular goal, what is left to push you.
The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.
How Habits Shape Our Identity
Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.
Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become. “No thanks. I’m trying to quit.” “No thanks. I’m not a smoker.”
Most people don’t even consider identity change when they set out to improve. They just think, “I want to be skinny (outcome) and if I stick to this diet, then I’ll be skinny (process).” They set goals and determine the actions they should take to achieve those goals without considering the beliefs that drive their actions. They never shift the way they look at themselves, and they don’t realize that their old identity can sabotage their new plans for change.
Behind every system of actions is a system of beliefs. The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.
On any given day, you may struggle with your habits because you’re too busy or too tired or too overwhelmed or hundreds of other reasons. Over the long run, however, the real reason you fail to stick with habits is that your self-image gets in the way. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.
Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins. It’s important to let your values, principles, and identity drive the loop rather than your results. Fundamentally they are not about having something. They are about becoming someone.
Habits are mental shortcuts learned from experience. In a sense, a habit is just a memory of the steps you previously followed to solve a problem in the past.
Habits do not restrict freedom. They create it. In fact, the people who don’t have their habits handled are often the ones with the least amount of freedom. Without good financial habits, you will always be struggling for the next dollar. Without good health habits, you will always seem to be short on energy. Without good learning habits, you will always feel like you’re behind the curve. If you’re always being forced to make decisions about simple tasks—when should I work out, where do I go to write, when do I pay the bills—then you have less time for freedom. It’s only by making the fundamentals of life easier that you can create the mental space needed for free thinking and creativity.
The Habit Framework
Source: James Clear
The cue triggers your brain to initiate a behaviour. It is a bit of information that predicts a reward. Cravings are the second step, and they are the motivational force behind every habit. Without some level of motivation or desire—without craving a change—we have no reason to act. Cues are meaningless until they are interpreted. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the observer are what transform a cue into a craving. The response is the actual habit you perform, which can take the form of a thought or an action. Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start. Reduce the craving and you won’t experience enough motivation to act. Make the behaviour difficult and you won’t be able to do it. And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again After decades of mental programming, we automatically slip into these patterns of thinking and acting.
For developing good habits: The 1st law (Cue) Make it obvious. The 2nd law (Craving) Make it attractive. The 3rd law (Response) Make it easy. The 4th law (Reward) Make it satisfying.
For eliminating bad habits: Inversion of the 1st law (Cue) Make it invisible. Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving) Make it unattractive. Inversion of the 3rd law (Response) Make it difficult. Inversion of the 4th law (Reward) Make it unsatisfying.
Law 1: Make it Obvious
We must begin the process of behaviour change with awareness. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” There are no good habits or bad habits. There are only effective habits. That is, effective at solving problems. All habits serve you in some way—even the bad ones—which is why you repeat them. For this exercise, categorize your habits by how they will benefit you in the long run. If you’re still having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, here is a question I like to use “Does this behaviour help me become the type of person I wish to be? Hearing your bad habits spoken aloud makes the consequences seem more real. It adds weight to the action rather than letting yourself mindlessly slip into an old routine. An implementation intention sweeps away foggy notions like “I want to work out more” or “I want to be more productive” or “I should vote” and transforms them into a concrete plan of action.
I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
No behaviour happens in isolation. Each action becomes a cue that triggers the next behaviour. When it comes to building new habits, you can use the connectedness of behavior to your advantage. One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking. Habit stacking is a special form of an implementation intention. Rather than pairing your new habit with a particular time and location, you pair it with a current habit.
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
This allows you to take advantage of the natural momentum that comes from one behaviour leading into the next:
Exercise. When I see a set of stairs, I will take them instead of using the elevator.
Social skills. When I walk into a party, I will introduce myself to someone I don’t know yet.
Finances. When I want to buy something over $100, I will wait twenty-four hours before purchasing.
Healthy eating. When I serve myself a meal, I will always put veggies on my plate first.
Minimalism. When I buy a new item, I will give something away. (One in, one out.)
Mood. When the phone rings, I will take one deep breath and smile before answering.
Forgetfulness. When I leave a public place, I will check the table and chairs to make sure I don’t leave anything behind.
The 1st Law of Behaviour Change is to make it obvious. Strategies like implementation intentions and habit stacking are among the most practical ways to create obvious cues for your habits and design a clear plan for when and where to take action. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behaviour. Despite our unique personalities, certain behaviours tend to arise again and again under certain environmental conditions.
Most people live in a world others have created for them. But you can alter the spaces where you live and work to increase your exposure to positive cues and reduce your exposure to negative ones.
“One space, one use.”
If you can manage to stick with this strategy, each context will become associated with a particular habit and mode of thought. Habits thrive under predictable circumstances like these. Focus comes automatically when you are sitting at your work desk. Relaxation is easier when you are in a space designed for that purpose. Sleep comes quickly when it is the only thing that happens in your bedroom. If you want behaviours that are stable and predictable, you need an environment that is stable and predictable.
When scientists analyse people who appear to have tremendous self-control, it turns out those individuals aren’t all that different from those who are struggling. Instead, “disciplined” people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control. In other words, they spend less time in tempting situations.
Law 2: Make it Attractive
The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.
Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop. When dopamine rises, so does our motivation to act. It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfilment of it—that gets us to take action. The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike.
Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behaviour is the normal behaviour.
Nothing sustains motivation better than belonging to the tribe. When changing your habits means challenging the tribe, change is unattractive. When changing your habits means fitting in with the tribe, change is very attractive.
Find love and reproduce = using Tinder
Connect and bond with others = browsing Facebook
Win social acceptance and approval = posting on Instagram
Reduce uncertainty = searching on Google
Achieve status and prestige = playing video games Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires.
Here’s the powerful part: there are many different ways to address the same underlying motive. One person might learn to reduce stress by smoking a cigarette. Another person learns to ease their anxiety by going for a run. Your current habits are not necessarily the best way to solve the problems you face; they are just the methods you learned to use. Once you associate a solution with the problem you need to solve, you keep coming back to it.
Law 3 : Make it Easy
There is a key difference between being in motion and taking action. The two ideas sound similar, but they’re not the same. When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behaviour that will deliver an outcome.
One of the most common questions I hear is, “How long does it take to build a new habit?” But what people really should be asking is, “How many does it take to form a new habit?” That is, how many repetitions are required to make a habit automatic? It’s the frequency that makes the difference.
The central idea is to create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible. Much of the battle of building better habits comes down to finding ways to reduce the friction associated with our good habits and increase the friction associated with our bad ones.
Habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding toward the next behaviour. It seems to be easier to continue what you are already doing than to start doing something
You check your phone for “just a second” and soon you have spent twenty minutes staring at the screen. In this way, the habits you follow without thinking often determine the choices you make when you are thinking.
Every day, there are a handful of moments that deliver an outsized impact. I refer to these little choices as decisive moments
The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details.
Law 4: Make it Satisfying
Our preference for instant gratification reveals an important truth about success: because of how we are wired, most people will spend all day chasing quick hits of satisfaction. The road less travelled is the road of delayed gratification. If you’re willing to wait for the rewards, you’ll face less competition and often get a bigger payoff. As the saying goes, the last mile is always the least crowded.
Success in nearly every field requires you to ignore an immediate reward in favour of a delayed reward.
Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit.
The Cardinal Rule of Behaviour Change: What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided.
Benefits of Habit Tracking
Benefit #1: Habit tracking is obvious.
Benefit #2: Habit tracking is attractive. The most effective form of motivation is progress.
Benefit #3: Habit tracking is satisfying.
In summary, habit tracking (1) creates a visual cue that can remind you to act, (2) is inherently motivating because you see the progress you are making and don’t want to lose it, and (3) feels satisfying whenever you record another successful instance of your habit. Furthermore, habit tracking provides visual proof that you are casting votes for the type of person you wish to become, which is a delightful form of immediate and intrinsic gratification.
The Truth about Talent
The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.
Too often, we fall into an all-or-nothing cycle with our habits. The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you can’t do something perfectly, then you shouldn’t do it at all. The dark side of tracking a particular behaviour is that we become driven by the number rather than the purpose behind it.
The human mind wants to “win” whatever game is being played. This pitfall is evident in many areas of life. We focus on working long hours instead of getting meaningful work done. We care more about getting ten thousand steps than we do about being healthy. We teach for standardized tests instead of emphasizing learning, curiosity, and critical thinking.
The secret to maximizing your odds of success is to choose the right field of competition. Pick the right habit and progress is easy. Pick the wrong habit and life is a struggle.
Genes cannot be easily changed, which means they provide a powerful advantage in favourable circumstances and a serious disadvantage in unfavourable circumstances.
Habits are easier when they align with your natural abilities. Choose the habits that best suit you.
Play a game that favours your strengths. If you can’t find a game that favours you, create one.
Genes do not eliminate the need for hard work. They clarify it. They tell us what to work hard on.
“Men desire novelty to such an extent that those who are doing well wish for a change as much as those who are doing badly.”
The Goldilocks Rule
The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.
The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.
As habits become routine, they become less interesting and less satisfying. We get bored. Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference.
Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way.
The Secret to Results that Last
Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery
You want to view the entire mountain range, not obsess over each peak and valley.
Keep your identity small. The more you let a single belief define you, the less capable you are of adapting when life challenges you.
Everything is impermanent. Life is constantly changing, so you need to periodically check in to see if your old habits and beliefs are still serving you.
