Atomic Habits

Summary

Atomic Habits is about habits, good and bad, and understanding habit formation and change as small parts of a greater system. We approach habits with the idea that we can change bad ones or make good ones through sheer willpower. What we fail to understand however, is that the systems we follow are what’s holding us back from reaching those goals. By changing your systems, i.e. the processes that lead to results, you in turn form the habits that are the small parts of the larger system that lead to progress and your goals.

The book covers the why and how habits are formed, that cues and stimuli that are the basis for habit formation, and the laws of behavior change that can be used to modify or quit habits.

Concepts

• Goals and systems

  You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

  Successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals.

  The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.

• 1% better every day

  If you can get just 1 percent better each day, you’ll end up with results that are nearly 37 times better after one year.

  Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them.

  Time magnifies the margins between success and failure.

• The Four Laws of Behavior Change

  1) Make it Obvious

  People often choose products not because of what they are, but because of where they are. – Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.

  2) Make it Attractive

  Gambling addicts have a dopamine spike right before they place a bet, not after they win. Cocaine addicts get a surge of dopamine when they see the powder, not after they take it. – It is the anticipation of a reward - not the fulfillment of it - that gets us to take action.

  3) Make it Easy

  It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work.

  4) Make it Satisfying

  What is rewarded is repeated. – Positive emotions cultivate habits.

Personal Thoughts

Honestly, I’m not doing this book justice, and it’s one of those audiobooks where I know I’ll have to pick up a physical copy. I felt like every other sentence had something in it that I could write down and think back on later. It lays out how habit formation works and the biological processes behind it that make it so. If you’re even remotely curious about how habits form, and how to change your own, then I highly recommend it.

All quotes above from Atomic Habits are copyright 2018 © by James Clear.