Book Review, Summary, Highlights and Quotes from Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
This book is incredible. I repeat…incredible!
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a goldmine of useful information and ideas around how to build better habits, break the bad ones, and live the life that you want.
And that is exactly what I like to write about on AR, so the fact that I haven’t read this book yet is crazy.
If I had to sum up my review in one blurb it would be this:
Don’t let this book pass you by. Worth the hype. Purchase now.
I loved every part of Atomic Habits from the start.
Clear’s writing is about as clear and effective as can be. He uses real-life examples and is able to cut various amounts of science and psychology into actionable and useful advice.
So whether you are a high paying CEO, a stay-at-home mom, or a single twenty something, this book will pay off big time.
One of the most interesting things about Atomic Habits for me, was that it shows you why the good habits stick, and why many of the other habits you’ve tried to create over the years have failed.
For me personally, I tabbed over 20% of the book. There is that much really good content that is worth returning to over and over.
If I was to recommend to someone ONE book to read this year, it would be Atomic Habits.
Key book highlights from Atomic Habits by James Clear
Clear starts the book by giving a rundown of the fundamentals. Why habits help us to build the life we want and why many of our past attempts to create new habits have failed.
Part of the fundamentals is understanding why goal setting and why goals are not enough:
Clear’s solution is that if goals simply do not work, then we need to forget about goals and focus on the systems instead.
He goes on to explain why systems are important and the remainder of the book shows you how to use systems to build better habits.
Clear also discusses 1% better mentality – using small habits to make a big difference:
Lastly in the fundamentals section, Clear argues that most of your habits are tied with your identity. He says,
So Clear’s thesis is that if you begin to change your identity, you will begin to create habits to support that identity:
After the important identity section, Clear introduces us to his habit forming rules, and goes on to dissect each chapter by chapter:
Make it obvious —>
Make it attractive —>
Make it easy —>
Make it satisfying —>
While at first, you are scratching your head, Clear walks through various methods for each of his Habit laws.
For instance, “Make it obvious” is really about being more specific.
Whereas the inverse of “Make it obvious” is “Make it invisible:”
If you’re wasting too much time watching television, move it out of the bedroom.”
So as you can see, Clear dissects and creates strategies for both creating good habits and removing bad ones.
Here are some additional things you’ll glean in Atomic Habits:
Habit contracts
Other Advanced Tactics
Best quotes from Atomic Habits by James Clear
The first step is not what or how, but who. You need to know who you want to be. Otherwise your quest for change is like a boat without a rudder.
We all deal with setbacks but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible.
Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. […] Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable – sometimes it isn’t even noticeable– but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.
The outside world only sees the most dramatic event rather than all that preceded it. But you know that it’s the work you did long ago-when it seemed that you weren’t making any progress-that makes the jump today possible.
Goals create an “either-or” conflict: either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and are a disappointment. You mentally box yourself into a narrow version of happiness”
Be specific and clear: After I close the door. After I brush my teeth. After I sit down at the table. The specificity is important. The more tightly bound your new habit is to a specific cue, the better the odds are that you will notice when the time comes to act.
We like to think we are in control. If we choose water over soda, we assume it is because we wanted to do so. The truth, however, is that many of the actions we take each day are shaped not by purposeful drive and choice but by the most obvious option.
Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term-one.
Even when you know you should start small, it’s easy to start too big.
You don’t realize how valuable it is to just show up on your bad (or busy) days. Lost days hurt you more than successful days help you.
We focus on working long hours instead of getting meaningful work done. We care more about getting ten thousand steps than we do about being healthy. We teach for standardized tests instead of emphasizing learning, curiosity, and critical thinking. In short, we optimize for what we measure. When we chose the wrong measurement, we get the wrong behavior.
I can guarantee that if you manager to start a habit and keep sticking to it, there will be days when you feel like quitting. […] But stepping up when it’s annoying or painful or draining to do so, that’s what makes the difference between a professional and an amateur.
Improvement is not just about learning habits, it’s also about fine-tuning them. Reflection and review ensures that you spend your time on the right things and make course corrections whenever necessary.
Youtube: James Clear
James Clear on Getting 1% Better Daily With Stoicism
How to Trigger Good Habits Automatically
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Just ordered… appreciate the review!
Anytime. More are on the way. I have a backlog of old books, plus all of the current ones 🙂
Soon I may have an entire database…?