Atomic Habits – All you need to know about laws of habit formation

This book had been popping up as a recommendation on my screens for a few months before I finally decided to buy it and give it a go. And I am so glad I did.

This is an easy read, even for those who have not read a book before. Simply put, it is an absolutely brilliant book, and not one of those heavy-duty books preaching about self-improvement in different words but meaning all the same thing. This is probably one of the few books that in my humble opinion can definitely ALTER YOUR LIFE, and I don’t say that lightly. You just need to sincerely implement some of the methods and techniques that are described, and I am sure you will see positive outcomes very soon.

It is filled with helpful and actionable insights about habits, how to start one and more importantly how to be consistent. Here are some that I felt were the most insightful.

First and foremost, let’s look at the title ‘Atomic Habits’. ‘Atomic’ means tiny, small, or invisible. And that is the overarching narrative of this book – how small but consistent habits can bring about significant changes in our lives.

Little drops of water
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean,
And the pleasant land.

– Julia Carney, in the poem ‘Little Things’

Take for example a small indoor plant that you bring home and remains happily nestled in a corner. You water it every day, give it enough sunlight to grow, but is the growth visible to you when you see it from one day to the next? The change is so small, so atomic that it is invisible to the naked eyes. But give it a few months and it is already outgrowing the small pot it came in and now needs to be re-potted in a bigger pot. That is pretty much what the author, James Clear, very effectively highlights throughout the book.  

Now how do we achieve this?

One crucial concept propagated by the author is redefining the importance of setting a goal. We have always been told that we need goals to get a sense of direction in our lives. While that is true, setting a goal is not sufficient to achieve it. It is just enough to get us started. But what carries us through the journey and all the way to the destination is in fact the consistent habits we develop in reaching the goal. And that is where the focus should be directed towards, making accomplishment of goals an outcome that eventually follows.

And like any good thing in life, this will not come easy. It takes time, effort, and immense patience. Most of us are guilty of having serious New Year resolutions to lose those 5 kgs. We follow a strict regime for a week or two and slowly crawl back to our old ways, convincing ourselves that this was not working. But we knew the truth all along – it was easy to be lazy.

Habit is like a small puppy – it needs constant attention, grooming, patience and once it has been disciplined, it then operates on an auto-pilot mode, and you no longer need to put any effort. It just happens, magically!

I had a similar struggle with my habit of reading. My sister introduced me to books at a very young age and I spent most school and college days reading books of all kinds. In 2009, when my first job took over my life leaving me with little time for myself, my favourite pastime took a back seat. And slowly and easily drifted out of my life completely, until 3 years ago, when I consciously tried to start reading again.

I have read about 40 books in the last 3 years (which I know is not a lot when compared to some avid readers) and it has now become a part of my routine – a 30 min read before sleep, every single night! When I read this book, I realised that I had subconsciously implemented some of the steps introduced in this book. What an inception kind of moment !! 🙂

Now let’s see some steps laid out in this book to help us start and keep a habit –

MAKE IT OBVIOUS

Making a habit obvious means trying to place the habit enablers in way that you see it. Keeping a book on your side table, setting an alarm to start waking up early, keeping a bottle of water on your work desk – these are all simple examples of how you can enable the habits you want to start just by creating a space where you SEE them.

MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE

This means that a habit you want to start should also be something that interests you. If not, you are more likely to fail. It should be something you look forward to, such as finishing that murder story you are reading, doing the kind of workout that suits you the best, going to a gym with a friend.

MAKE IT EASY

If you decide to work out in a gym that is 30 mins away from home, chances are you will give up soon. Habits should be easy to start, less friction means better consistency. So get the right lamp to read, get the right yoga mat or get the right running shoes to help you start your habit.

MAKE IT SATISFYING

Make it immediately gratifying. Give yourself a reward to relish after a certain milestone. If I finish 4 runs this week, I will have a *anything that you like*. If I read for 30 minutes, I will allow myself 15 minutes of browsing etc. Don’t reward yourself with something that completely negates the effect of your habit, but something simple and small to look forward to.

Above all, what is important to remember is that it is not necessary to start a habit with a BIG BANG. Start small, start slow. Allow yourself enough time to ease into it and within no time you will be doing it as part of your routine effortlessly. That is the beauty of training your mind by establishing a certain type of rhythm or a flow that after a while happens naturally. And this creates a pathway for bigger goals in life.

This book also goes on to cover the scientific and psychological factors of forming a habit and so much more. My humble request is to not treat this review as a summary of the book and skip reading the entire content. I’d strongly recommend that you invest your time in this and you will not regret it!

Is this going to progress from my kindle to a hardcopy version, part of my personal all-time favourites that I would want to read again? – Definitely YES!