Atomic Habits, an easy and proven way to build good habits and break old ones. Book Cover

Atomic Habits

An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear

Overview

Atomic Habits by James Clear has been on my radar for quite some time now. Admitingly, I held off as I questioned if it was just another book about habits with the same principles revisited with added flare. Well, I was wrong! James Clear didn’t just write a book about habits, he wrote THE book about habits. Now, I may eat those words as my journey continues, but as it stands this book is the trifecta. It illuminates the importance of habits (and systems) in achieving our goals, it provides a practical system for implementing new habits along with excellent examples, and it contains inspiring stories that bring the lessons and concepts to life.

Key Insights

  • Although habits create structure, there is freedom to be gained through their structure.
  • All habits contain four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.
  • Behaviour change and the adoption of new habits can be greatly assisted by making new habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
  • The real power in habits is seen over time. Time is the great magnifier of both good and bad habits.
  • Our environments play a significant role in the adoption of our habits. If running or walking was to be a desired habit, the environment could literally make this an uphill battle.

Putting it into practice.

As I write this, it is currently December 15th, about two weeks from the New Year. Like many others, I see the New Year as a time for new beginnings, a clean slate, a fresh start. After completing Atomic Habits, I am extremely excited for the reflection I will be doing in the upcoming weeks preceding the New Year. I feel empowered, more than ever, to achieve my goals as I develop systems (through my habits) that will set me up for success.

A few of my favorite quotes from the book!

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement
James Clear : Atomic Habits
Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
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.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
Ultimately, it is your commitment to process that will determine your progress.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
The process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
Fundamentally they [habits] are not about having something. They are about becoming someone.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
“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.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
It is the anticipation of a reward – not the fulfillment of it – that gets us to take action.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
You don’t actually want the habit itself. What you really want is the outcome the habit delivers.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you down a more productive path.
James Clear : Atomic Habits
Master the habit of showing up. (...) 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.
James Clear : Atomic Habits

Get it today on Amazon!