Self-Development Book Club - Atomic Habits

tracymartorana4
Oct 26
6 min read

We are on number ten of my Self-Development Book Club books. If you haven't been following along, at the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read or reread at least one self-development book a month and then share it with you. You can find all of my Book Club YouTube videos in this playlist. Be sure to check them out!

What was my tenth book? It was a reread of my second-favorite book on habit change - Atomic Habits by James Clear. The subtitle of this book is 'An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones'. You might ask, What is my favorite book on habit change? You can watch me discuss that one in my video on Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.

Atomic Habits was published in 2018 and was a New York Times bestseller with over 15 million copies sold. So, it's kind of a big deal. If you haven't read it, I bet you have at least heard of it.

Watch Me Talk About It

Atomic Habits - Summary

Below are just a few key takeaways from the six sections of the book. I encourage you to grab a copy and give it a read, as I really am only scratching the surface.

The Fundamentals

This section answers the question of why tiny changes make a big difference.

Aggregation of marginal gain is the concept that making a tiny improvement in every little thing you do leads to big changes overall.
"Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions".
Beware the valley of disappointment. We assume change and effect are linear, but in truth, there is a lag in time before we see the effects of the changes we implement. Don't let that discourage you. Be patient.
Don't focus on your goal. Focus on the systems of how you operate. James Clear points out that in any sporting event, both the winners and the losers have the same goal...to win. What makes the difference is their systems/behaviors.
Little habits are part of a larger system.
Decide what kind of person you want to be, then create behaviors that prove it to you over and over. Every time you practice a musical instrument, you prove you are a musician. Every time you practice yoga, you prove you are a yogi. Every time you skip the bad-for-you food or drink, you prove that you are a healthy person.
"Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become".
The four steps to building a habit are Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward.

This chart summarizes how we can use the laws associated with each step to make habits stick.

	How to Create a Good Habit	How to Break a Bad Habit
1st Law - Cue	Make it OBVIOUS	Make it INVISIBLE
2nd Law - Craving	Make it ATTRACTIVE	Make it UNATTRACTIVE
3rd Law - Response	Make it EASY	Make it DIFFICULT
4th Law - Reward	Make it SATISFYING	Make it UNSATISFYING

The 1st Law - Make it Obvious

The 1st Law is about the Cue. Think of what will cue you to do a new habit.

The two most common cues are time and location.
Use the implementation intention formula of: I will {BEHAVIOR} at {TIME} in {LOCATION}.
We are most likely to notice cues that stand out.
Habit stacking (as discussed in Tiny Habits by BJ Flogg) pairs a new habit with a current habit.
If you are looking to break a bad habit, remove the cues. Ex, if you want to stop eating junk food, remove it from your home so you don't have to see it.

The 2nd Law - Make it Attractive

The 2nd Law is about Craving. It is the anticipation of reward that moves us to action.

Anticipation -> dopemine release -> increased craving -> action
Make your new habit more attractive by pairing it with an action you love to do (cue -> need to do -> want to do). Ex. After I eat lunch -> I will read and respond to 5 emails -> then I will check Facebook.
Behaviors are attractive when they help us fit in. Therefore, surround yourself with people who encourage the habit. Want to read more? Join a book club.
Find a group where your desired behavior is normal and you already have something in common.
Words matter. Reprogram your brain with your words. Ex, you don't have to do something, you GET to do something.
Focus on the positive. You aren't dragging yourself to the gym to exercise, you are going to the gym to build strength and endurance.
To break a habit, remind yourself of the benefits of avoiding the habit. Use a picture or a sign if necessary.

The 3rd Law - Make it Easy

The 3rd Law is about your Response. This is how you actually do the behavior.

"The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning".
Focus on taking action, not simply being in motion.
Remove any friction that interferes with doing the behavior. Ex, want to exercise in the morning? Sleep in your exercise clothes. Want to eat healthy? Have a healthy snack in the fridge, prepped and ready to eat.
Create micro habits. If you want to do yoga every morning, start with doing just one pose after you get out of bed.
"The point is to master the habit of showing up...a habit must be established before it can be improved".
'It's better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all".
To break a habit, look for ways to increase friction. Want to stop endless social media scrolling? Remove or block the apps from your phone.

The 4th Law - Make it Satisfying

The 4th Law is about the Reward. There must be some benefit associated with our new behavior, or why are we even doing it?

"The human brain evolved to prioritize immediate rewards over delayed rewards". So what is immediately rewarded will be repeated.
A habit tracker is a simple way to reward yourself. Everyone loves seeing that line of Xs showing all we accomplished.
Get an accountability partner.
Get creative in finding ways to reward yourself, especially with behaviors that have a delayed benefit (like exercise or eating healthy).
To break a habit, make it unsatisfying. Maybe announce to friends and family the habit you are quitting; then there is an element of shame if you do the behavior.

The first three laws increase our chances of doing the behavior this time. The fourth increased our chances of doing it again in the future.

Last Thoughts

I love how each chapter has a summary of the main points, and then at the end of the book, there is an appendix with some additional information.

If you really want to geek out, there are also 24 pages of notes, references, and citations at the end. If you find a particular point interesting, go down the rabbit hole of further reading.

Again, I'm only scratching the surface of this book. If you are interested in learning more about how you can be more successful at habit change, pick up a copy of Atomic Habits!