Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits:

About the Author: James clear is the Author of international bestselling book Atomic Habits, Creator of jamesclear website, A Speaker who delivers couple of speeches per month in events and companies like: Lululemon, McKinsey & Company, Merrill Lynch, and many more and He is also a Weight Lifter and Former Athlete in his college life.

 Short Summary of Book : Atomic Habit is defined as the small routine or practice which is not only small as well as easy to do having incredible power and an important component of the system of compound growth.

        It is easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on daily basis. We convince our self that we need massive success requires massive actions. Whether it is losing weight or achieving any other goal we mainly focus on improvement that will shock everyone around us and resulting they will talk about it, mainly we focus on what to do so that everyone will talk about me. Meanwhile 1% improvement is not noticeable but it meaningful in long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is magnificent. If you are getting better 1 percent each day at the end of year you will be 36 percent better which is phenomenal change which is unachievable by 70 percent of the people who sets their New year resolutions each year and failed after a week or two. Conversely, if you are getting 1 percent each day then at the end of year you will be nearly down to zero.

The Habit is compound interest of self-improvement same as money which is multiplies through compound interest; the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. Changes will not be visible on any given day but the impact they deliver over the month will be tremendously

enormous.

        We generally ignore small changes and say they don’t seem to matter very much in that moment but if you save a little money now you are still not the millionaire but if you continues to save for time you can be one, If you go to gym 3 days on a row you are still out of shape but if you continues to do so and maintain a proper diet and routine you will get the results that you have desired. We make few changes but a result never seems to come so we get back to previous routine again. 

        Breakthrough moment is often the result of any previous actions which is building up the potential required to unleash the major change. As depicted in book, Imagine if you are in a room with an ice cube on the table in front of you. It is currently 25 degrees and temperature is being increased slowly and room is being heat up.

“Twenty-Six degrees”

“Twenty-Seven degrees”

“Twenty-Eight degrees”

“Twenty-Nine degrees”

“Thirty degrees”

“Thirty one”

nothing happened till now, then “Thirty two degree” is reached ice-cube starts to melt. A one degree shift may not be noticeable but the potential to melt that ice-cube was being formed from “Twenty Five degrees” which is called as breakthrough moment and as per James it is “Plateau of Latent Potential”.

Challenges we faced in changing our habits are formally two only (1.) We try to change the wrong thing and (2.) We try to change in a wrong way. As per James “There are three layers of behavior change: a change in your outcomes, a change in your processes, or a change in your identity.”

“Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.”               

“With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become.”               

“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity.”

We can change our habits by asking some questions to our-self,

How can I make it obvious?

How can I make it attractive?

How can I make it easy?

How can I make it satisfying?

Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.

If you want to change your habit by auditing youself by asking if this habit will be helpful to become the type of person I want to become?

The best way to start a new habit is the stack your new habits in between those habits that you are doing daily. This is called as habit stacking.

One of the most practical way to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the queue that causes it.

The second law of behavior change is make it attractive, the more likely the opportunity is more likely it will be habit forming.

We tend to imitate habits mostly from three social groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (those with status and prestige). One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group.

The upside of habits is that we can do things without thinking. The downside is that we stop paying attention to little errors.

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