Have you ever wanted to start something but for some reason, you couldn’t make it a habit? Or maybe you just wanted to kick a bad habit. Today I will be reviewing the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
I know for me, keeping a workout routine was extremely challenging. In the beginning, I would always be extremely motivated, but I would always end up quitting after a week or two, which is why I was so intrigued by this book.
The Book
Yes, you might have guessed it, this book is about habits. However, it discusses not only the concept of good practices but bad ones as well. In this book, the author, James Clear, discusses the anatomy of a habit and the 4 steps in building good habits (or breaking bad ones).
Each step (cue, craving, response, reward) is a different section in the book with corresponding chapters. The first two steps are the problem phase, while the remaining two are the solution phase. And there are actions associated with each one as well.
The book discusses multiple tactics and strategies for each step to guide you in building the habits that you desire.
The Takeaways
The author takes a concept that we all struggle with (creating/breaking habits) and gives you actionable ways to tackle the problem. There are a few concepts that stood out to me.
The first is the idea of habit stacking, which is building one upon another. For example, if you want to workout after work. Your habit of coming home will be followed by your new habit of putting on your workout clothes.
Another concept that he brought up is that most of us focus on the goal that we want to achieve and not the strategy of how to get there. For example, a plan would be “I want to get healthy.” Because that goal is so vague, we most likely won’t accomplish that goal. However, if we set up a strategy such as “every morning at 5am, I will go for a run.”
The other highlight that he brought up in this book is that we might have to change our environment to build better habits. For example, if you don’t want to watch TV when you go to bed, remove the TV from your room. Instead, make the living room the place to watch TV. The same goes for people. If you want to improve your way of life and build better habits, you should try to find people who have similar ideas and values as the ones you desire.
The author also mentioned that if you practice your habit for 2 minutes a day, it will become like second nature and, over time, will build into a longer forming practice. For example, if you work out for 2 minutes a day, soon it will go to 10 minutes and then 30 minutes, etc.
Closing Statement
Honestly, I could go on and on about this book; it’s just that good. I highly recommend this book if you want to take action in your life. This book was an easy read, but a lot of information. I will most likely be giving it another read at a later date.
If you’re interested in more of my book reviews, you can find them >>here<<.
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