Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results.
Table of contents
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
🎨 Impressions
This book does a great job of laying down the frameworks of habit formation. It also offers great strategies for cementing good habits and breaking bad habits.
One thing I didn’t like about his writing was the skewed arguments he weaved in through cliche and often ambiguous anecdotes from famous figures like Benjamin Franklin. It causes one to question his intellectual rigour, which is unfortunately a problem that plagues most self-help books.
🔍 How I Discovered It
Word of Mouth.
Video Summary: https://youtu.be/PZ7lDrwYdZc
👤 Who Should Read It?
Readers who are
Struggling to find the “motivation” to follow through on their New Years resolutions.
Lacking consistently in laying down new habits
Interested in finding out how habits are formed and why they are important in our daily lives.
☘️ How the Book Changed Me
This book reaffirmed my belief that habits are indeed the foundation of well-balanced lifestyles and success stories that we always hear.
Even though I am familiar with the research behind habit formation in my own life, I was able to approach habits that I wanted to adopt or break from different perspectives using his strategies.
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way.
The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.
Genes do not eliminate the need for hard work. They clarify it. They tell us what to work hard on.
📒 Summary + Notes
Five Big Ideas
1. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.
2. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
3. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
There are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.
It is a simple two-step process: Decide the type of person you want to be, the type of person who can achieve the outcome you want. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
4. The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.
Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.
5. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.
We tend to adopt habits that are praised and approved of by our culture because we have a strong desire to fit in and belong to the tribe.
The normal behavior of the tribe often overpowers the desired behavior of the individual.
5 Actionable Takeaways
Pointing-and-Calling raises your level of awareness from a nonconscious habit to a more conscious level by verbalizing your actions.
The Habit Tracker is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behaviour.
Identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.
Creating an implementation intention is a strategy you can use to pair a new habit with a specific time and location.
join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group
Graphs
Behavioural Laws
The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption that leads to additional purchases
Human behavior follows the Law of Least Effort
The Two-Minute Rule states, ‘When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.’
The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided
Goodhart’s Law states, ‘When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.’
The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.
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