Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear - { BOOK REVIEW }

  

James Clear's Non-fiction book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones has practical views for how to break bad habits and build keep new habits. 

Some take away and definitions from this book: 

* A habit when performed regularly and automatically becomes a routine or behavior in most cases.

* Results that are unimaginable can be attained through accumulating small but consistent habits ultimately. 

If you are willing to stick with small and unimportant changes at first will compound into remarkable results.

*   Quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.

*   Anything is possible with better habits. You end up with same results when you stick with the same habits.

*   Habits are the compound interest of self improvement. 

*   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. 

*    It is the product of daily habits - not once in a lifetime transformations that makes you successful.

*    What compounds into toxic result is your repeated 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating little excuses, and our small choices. 

*   What leads to a problem is the accumulation of many missteps - a 1 percent decline here and there eventually.

* The author suggests four laws of behavior change that are a sample set of rules -

How to create a Good Habit

1) Make it obvious

2) Make it attractive

3) Make it easy 

4) Make it satisfying  

How to Break a Bad Habit

1) Make it invisible

2) Make it unattractive

3) Make it difficult

4) Make it unsatisfying

* To create a more disciplined environment, the qualities essentially needed to improve discipline are perseverance, grit and willpower for success.

* Habits are a dopamine - driven feedback loop. Our motivation to act is because the dopamine rises. What gets us to the action is the anticipation of a reward - not the fulfillment of it.

*  As great is the anticipation, so will be the dopamine spike.

* Because we have a strong desire to fit in and belong to the tribe we tend to adopt habits that are praised and approved by our culture. 

*  We tend to imitate the habits of these social groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (those with status and prestige).

* Habits and identity shapes each other, it's a two way street.

* A habit is behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.

How to create a Good Habit 

The 1st law: Make it obvious

1) To be aware of your current habits - write it down.

2)  Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.

The 2nd law: Make it attractive

1) Pair it - An action you want to do with an action you need to do.

2) Join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.

3)Create a motivational ritual. Enjoy doing something immediately before a difficult habit.

The 3rd law: Make it Easy

1) Reduce Friction: The number of steps between you and your habits must be reduced.

2)  Prime the Environment: To make future actions easier your environment must be prepared.

3) Use the two minute rule: Your habits must be down scaled until they can be done in two minutes or less.

Automate your habits:- Invest and purchase in technology onetime that lock in future behavior.

The 4th law: Make it satisfying

How to break a bad habit.

Inversion of the 1'st law - Make it invisible

1) Reduce exposure:- Remove the cues of your bad habits from your environment.

Inversion of the 2nd Law:- Make it unattractive

2) Reframe your mindset:- Highlight it - benefits of avoiding your bad habits.

Inversion of 3rd Law

3) Increase friction:- Increase it - the number of steps between you and your bad habits.

This is a wonderful book, eye opener providing insights on our daily habits that are routine, changes that we can bring to our habits that are bad. Recommended!

Author - James Clear

Pages - 320

Language - English

Publisher - Random House Business Books

Publication Date - 18th October 2018

Disclosure of Material : I have received a review copy of this book by the publisher  in the form of e-book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

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