In Atomic Habits, James Clear writes a good explanation of what our habits are and how they affect our lives. He teaches a logical set of instructions for how to break old habits and build new ones. He tells inspiring stories of successful people using these methods to make little changes each day that can eventually turn into massive accomplishments.
Top 5 Takeaways:
1. Our habits have a huge influence over our lives
Most of what we do each day is a habit. We get up, shower, eat, and drive to work automatically without much thought. All the choices we make in our routines, what time we get up, what we eat for breakfast, what route we take to work, are all determined by our habits. These habits shape our lives and if we can understand and take control of them we can make significant changes in our lives.
Whether we want to get in better shape, read more, go for more walks, or do the dishes, we all have areas of our lives that can be improved by changing our habits. Clear tells stories of how successful people have made seemingly small changes in their habits which led to huge accomplishments.
2. Habits follow the same pattern of cue, craving, response, and reward
We can only change our habits if we are aware of what they are and how they work. Clear teaches that habits follow the path of cue, craving, response, and reward. We can use this method to become aware of our habits. For example, eating a cookie follows this path:
- Cue: You see a box of cookies on the counter
- Craving: You want to eat a cookie
- Response: You eat a cookie
- Reward: You feel satisfied
3. The best way to make new habits is simply to make them easier to do
You need to make your habits easier if you want to stick with them. Start by making small changes and continually look for places to improve. Clear gives logical and easy-to-follow instructions for how to make these small changes to your habits. It is amazing how these small changes make it significantly easier to stick to your habits.
For example, if you are trying to remember to floss, put your floss in an obvious spot on the counter so that you have a cue every time you go into the washroom.
4. The best way to break bad habits is to make them harder
The same is true for bad habits. If you want to break your bad habits make them slightly harder to do. Making your bad habits more inconvenient is an easy way to break them.
For example, if you want to use Instagram less, remove the app from your home screen. This simple change will add one extra step to the progress and make it more inconvenient. It will also get rid of the cue every time you go on your phone.
5. Choosing the right habits to build makes all the difference
It doesn’t make sense to go from eating fast food every day and watching tv every evening to training at the gym every day and following a perfect diet. You’ve got to start small and work your up. Clear teaches that you should aim to get 1% better each day. Those small changes will compound over time and make a huge difference.
Choosing what habits to build is important too. You need to think about what you like doing and what your natural skills are. If you hate painting, you are probably going to have a hard time picking up the habits of a painter. If you love writing, it will be a lot easier for you to pick up the habits of an author instead.
After reading Atomic Habits, I found myself constantly looking at the little actions that I do daily and how they affect my life. I’ve made small adjustments and am now able to pick up habits that make myself better. I think it is important for people to make continuous improvements in their lives. Clear shows you how to do this with practical and pain-free ways to change your habits.
Have you read Atomic Habits? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!