Reading Journal: Atomic Habits

Published: 20 Jan 2023
9 mins read

“In the first 30 years of your life, you make your habits. For the last 30 years of your life, your habits make you” - old Hindu saying

I’ve read way too many self-help books over the years. Out of the dozens or so on my bookshelf, if someone asked me to recommend just one, it would be a tie between two titles:

  • “How to Win Friends and Influence People” - Dale Carnegie
  • “Atomic Habits” - James Clear

I see “HTWFAIP” as the magna opus of the self-help genre, and I am certainly not the only one who thinks highly of Dale Carnegie’s work. Famously, the only certificate you’ll find in Warren Buffet’s office is from a course taught by Carnegie. But I am not here to sing praises for HTWFAIP. The fact that “Atomic Habits” is also in the discussion should be an indicator of how good the book is.

In short, this is one of the most practical self-help book ever written. It is relevant for whatever it is you are trying to achieve, whether it’s to run a marathon, read more books, or lose more weight. Our habits shape who we are, and who we will become. By understanding the science behind habit formation, and how best to build good habits and break bad ones, things like our goals and aspirations become the by-product rather than the focus.

James Clear has a short blog post on his website summarizing the entire book if you are interested. For my book journal, I will organize ideas and quotes into two major sections: key insights, and practical tips.

Part 1: Key Insights

1.0 Small Habit. Big Difference

“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement”

Similar to compound interest, habits make very little difference each day, yet the impact they deliver after many years can be enormous.

Unfortunately, the slow pace of transformation makes it easy to let bad habit slide, and good ones wither away. The reason why many new-year-resolutions fail is because people make a few small change, fail to see tangible impact, and stop. The key insight is that habits need to persist long enough to yield results!

2.0 Forget About Goals. Focus on Your System

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

Our culture places too much emphasis on goals and not enough on habits. Yet it should be precisely the opposite. Implicit in goal setting is the assumption that once you reach your goal, then you will be happy. This creates an “either-or” conflict in which you either succeed or fail.

Instead, James Clear believes we should have a “systems-first mentality”. Fall in love with the process rather than the product. You don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. Trust in the system (the habits you’ve created for yourself). The score will take care of itself!

Fix the input and the outputs will fix themselves

At the same time, James recommends occasional self-reflection to make sure you are meeting your long-term goals.

“Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. You want to view the entire mountain range, not obsess over each peak and valley”

3.0 Habit Formation is Identity Formation

True behavior change is identity change.

The third and perhaps most important insight is that the process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.

Behavior that is incongruent with the self will not last. If your identity is someone who loves junk food, your goal of eating healthier will not last until you fundamentally change who you are. By changing your habits, you change your identity and thus your life!

The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader

The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to become a runner

The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to become a musician

Furthermore, identity itself becomes a powerful reinforcer. You run because you are a runner, you read because you are a reader. It feels good to be you! Each session in the gym becomes almost like an investment. Putting money in the piggy bank.

Incentives can start a habit; Identity sustains a habit.

Part 2: Tips For Habit Formation

  • First step is to recognize your current habits. Can you identify your good and bad habits?

    • “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate” - Carl Jung

  • Habit Stacking - pair a new habit you want to form with an existing habit
    • “After I [current habit], I will [new habit]”
    • After I take brew my coffee, I will immediately meditate for a few minutes
  • Temptation Bundling - pair a new habit you want to form with a temptation
    • After I [new habit], I will treat myself with [temptation]
    • After I finish my workout, I will treat myself with some delicious fruits
  • Set up your environment for success
    • We like to think we are in control all of the time, but a lot of daily decisions are shaped not by purposeful drive and choice, but by the most obvious option at the time. Set up your environment for either productivity or leisure. One space. One use. The classic example is to work and play in separate rooms of the house. Or work in a café or library where you can’t do anything but work. Having a physical locations for specific tasks makes all the difference in the world!
    • The quote about “show me who your friends are and I will show you who you are” rings true. Our earliest habits are not chosen, they were imitated. We follow scripts handed down form friends, family, church, school, culture. Join a culture and keep friends where your desired behavior is the norm
    • Our conventional cultural belief is that if you are overweight, if you smoke, if you are an addict, it is because you lack self-control/discipline. The way to improve is not to be a more disciplined person, but create disciplined environments.

    • “Disciplined” people are just better at structural their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control

  • Decisive Moments - There are key moments during your day that shapes whether or not it will be a good productive day, or a bad one. You want to pay extra attention to these moments. It could mean the difference between starting your homework vs. binging TV shows on Netflix.

    • Each evening, there is a tiny moment - usually around 5:15PM - that shapes the rest of my night

  • Start Small - You don’t have to be a perfectionist. Also don’t be overly ambitious when first starting a habit. The first two minute should act as a gateway drug.
    • For example, if you have trouble reading before bed each night, instead just read one page.

    • “It is better to do less than you hoped than nothing at all”

  • Accountability Partner - Find someone with similar goals as you. Or post your progress publicly to increase your chance of following through.
  • Measure Progress - Visual indicators of your progress is satisfying and provides clear evidence of your efforts so far.
    • Some ideas could be to moving paper clips from one bin to another, removing post-it notes from walls, crossing items off a to-do list.
  • Never Miss Twice - Life will inevitable get in the way. Perfection is not possible. In those situations, just remember: “Never miss twice”

    • Professionals stick to schedules; amateurs let life get in the way

  • Keep Things Interesting! Growth Mindset.
    • Once you’ve established your habit. Track your progress. Work on challenges with manageable difficulty and keep things interesting. Once a habit is formed, the only threat to it is boredom.
  • Don’t optimize too early - Don’t get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan (e.g. the best way to lose weight, the best diet, the perfect idea for side hustle)
    • There is a difference between planning, strategizing, and learning vs. Action. Don’t get caught up planning. It might feel like you are getting things done, but it’s really an advanced form of procrastination
  • habits are easier to following when it fits into the flow of your life. Reduce friction! If your daily schedule works better for evening runs, don’t force yourself to run in the morning. Work with the grain of human nature, not against it!
  • As you form your habits, don’t cling on to a single identity too rigidly. Otherwise you become brittle. Lose that one thing and you lose yourself.

Amusing Story From The Cold War

In the chapter about the benefits of finding an accountability partner, James Clear tells a dark but hilarious story from the Cold War Era.

Strategies were proposed by many thinkers to prevent nuclear wars. One idea was to put the nuclear launch code inside a little capsule, and then implant it into the heart of a volunteer. The only way the president could launch a nuclear attack, and in consequence kill millions of people, is to first kill one human being, the volunteer, with his own hands.

The idea was met with fierce resistance because:

“My God, that’s terrible. Having to kill someone would distort the President’s judgement. He might never push the button”


Comments