How To Build GOOD HABITS & Break BAD Ones
Book Review Of “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
When was the last time you said to yourself “Why don’t I do what I say I’m going to do?”, or “Why don’t I lose weight or stop smoking or save more money to start that side hustle?”, or “No matter what, this time I’m going to make it”, or “This time it’s gonna be different”?
Then you set up a goal for yourself and start doing whatever it was that you were so motivated about. But then a few days past by and all your motivation drained out and procrastination took over.
And later you found yourself in the same miserable place where you started. And this happens again and again, and again, and again.
If you are having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. the problem is your system…
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your system.
James Clear, the author of the amazing book Atomic Habits, has come up with a revolutionary system to forget about gloating over big goals and instead focus on getting just 1 percent better every day.
As he recognizes the power of the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions and tiny actions to bring real change and transform your career, your relationships, and your life.
Tiny changes, remarkable results.
The subtitle of the book claims to be; An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones. But as I maintain that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, the author satisfies my skepticism as he delves into cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience to explain human behavior and why all the simple life hacks suggested in the book matter.
Almost every chapter of the book begins with an inspiring true story of leading CEOs, Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, and distinguished scientists who have used the science of tiny habits to stay productive, motivated, successful, and happy.
And all through to the end of every chapter you will find lots of actionable advice that will provide you with a framework to not only build good habits but also to avoid bad ones.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvements.
Before reading this book I was under the impression that the most essential thing to succeed in life is goal setting and working hard until you achieve your goal (just like every motivational self-help Guru keeps on yelling whenever you turn on social media).
I did manage to achieve some success with this mindset, like losing a couple of pounds of weight, or getting good grades in one semester, or reading a book until the end, or learning some pieces to play on my piano. Even though I managed to achieve all of this, I have to admit that my success was short term and not sustainable.
After shedding a few pounds I hit a plateau and lost motivation to keep working out and eating healthy. After getting good grades in one semester I slid back into my procrastination mode as soon as the semester ended.
The point is, setting goals and achieving them can be helpful for short term success but it’s not enough to transform your life.
To truly change yourself, you don’t need to make huge changes overnight, you just need to start small and be consistent.
Getting better 1% every day can seem like you are not doing enough since the change is not noticeable, but over the period of one year, if the maths is correct, you’ll be 37 times better than when you started out.
As the mighty Aristotle once wrote:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.
The author argues that one of the main reasons why we fail to change our habits is because we attempt to change the wrong thing and in the wrong way. He recognizes that there are three layers of behavior change:
- Changing your outcomes (the goals you set are related to this level of change where you are mainly concerned with changing your results like losing weight or increasing your sales).
- Changing your process (building new habits are related to this level of change where you are mainly concerned about changing your habits or systems, for example, starting to work out and eating healthy).
- Changing Your Identity (this level of change is about changing your beliefs. Your assumptions, worldview, personal biases, self-image, are all related to this level)
Behind every system of actions are a set of beliefs… True behavior change is identity change.
The most intriguing idea for me, besides getting 1% better every day, is to focus on who you wish to become rather than what you want to achieve.
Even though all three levels of change are equally useful in their own way, what matters more is the direction of change.
Most people start by desiring a different outcome and focus on what they want to achieve, which leads us to outcome-based habits.
A far better alternative is to start by focusing on who we wish to become, which leads us to build identity-based habits.
Your system of habits is shaped by your beliefs and assumptions, that is the identity behind your habits. If you start a habit that is inconsistent with your identity you are never going to stick with it.
We all have that one friend (or this could be you too) who quits smoking every month but only for a few days.
It’s not enough to crave the desired outcome to change your habits, in this case wanting to quit smoking, instead, you need to alter your beliefs about yourself first and identify as a nonsmoker and not as someone whose trying to quit smoking.
Believe it or not, this simple shift in mindset can be a real game-changer for you.
In my personal experience, I was never very good at writing in school nor I was interested in becoming a writer as a grown-up. But as I got older, I got interested in reading non-fiction books about science, philosophy, history, and politics. And started writing about all the political and ideological conflicts I had with my fellow citizens and government on my social media account.
My friends on social media started admiring my writing skills (which I never expected) and this helped me to form a new belief about myself that I am a good writer, if not the best. This later lead me to write here on Medium.
When a habit becomes a part of your identity it takes the form of intrinsic motivation. As James Clear wrote:
The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it.
When your behavior is fully aligned with your identity, instead of pursuing behavior change you are simply acting like the type of person you believe yourself to be. Identity change is a true behavior change.
This four-step pattern is the backbone of every habit.
Before diving into the interesting habit-forming techniques, James has given the reader some key insight into the science of how habits work?
Understanding the process of habit building by breaking it down into Four fundamental parts can truly help you grasp; what are habits? How do they work? And how can we improve them?
1. Cue
The cue is anything that provokes your brain to initiate a certain behavior, which is a bit of information that predicts a reward.
Our minds are constantly analyzing the internal as well as the external environment for locating rewards. Since the cue is the first indication of a future reward, it leads us naturally to a craving.
2. Craving
Next are the cravings, which are the main motivational factor behind every habit because without any desire or motivation you are left with no reason to act.
What you crave is not the actual habit but its desired outcomes. Almost everything you crave has some sort of correlation to a desire to change your internal state.
When you observe a cue your brain interprets the information in the form of thoughts, feelings, and emotions and that is what transforms a cue into a craving.
3. Response
Then comes the response, the actual habit, or action you take as a result of the craving. The occurrence of response depends on how motivated you are and how much resistance is associated with the action.
The more physical or mental effort required to execute a certain action, the more likely you are to avoid it.
Also, the response depends on your ability as well. No matter how motivated you feel you are, if the task is physically or mentally impossible for you, you’re never gonna make it.
4. Reward
Finally, the response delivers a reward, the end goal of every habit.
The cue is about identifying a potential reward, the craving is about desiring that reward, and the response is about taking action to obtain that reward.
Rewards serve two purposes:
- They satisfy your craving.
- They teach you which actions are worth remembering in the future.
Your brain is continuously analyzing data to identify and remember actions that give you pleasure and satisfaction.
Feelings like pleasure or disappointment are the main components of the feedback mechanism that help your brain in distinguishing useful actions from the useless ones.
Rewards complete the habit cycle by ending the feedback loop.
If a behavior is insufficient in any of the four stages, it will not become a habit.
A cue provokes a craving, which motivates a response, which results in a reward, which satisfies the craving and becomes associated with the cue.
Together, these four steps form a neurological feedback loop (cue, craving, response, reward) which is running 24/7 without you noticing it, even right now.
The mind is always looking out for cues and trying out different responses and learning from the results to remember the cues and responses that provide satisfactory rewards.
This is what allows you to form new habits so that whenever you detect a cue, the response follows automatically without any effort or thinking.
This cycle is known as the habit loop.
The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits.
Based on all the science behind human behavior and habit formation, the author, James Clear has come up with a framework that he calls The Four Laws of Behavior Change, a simple set of rules for creating good habits and breaking bad ones.
How to Create a Good Habit
- The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious.
- The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive.
- The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy.
- The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.
How to Break a Bad Habit
- Inversion of the1st law (Cue): Make it invisible.
- Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving): Make it unattractive.
- Inversion of the 3rd law (Response): Make it difficult.
- Inversion of the 4th law (Reward): Make it unsatisfying.
The key to creating good habits and breaking bad ones is to understand these fundamental laws and how to alter them to your specifications.
The bulk of the book (more than 70%) is dedicated to the four laws of behavior change.
Interesting facts and stories, and tons of information and practical advice can be found in these pages as the author takes a deep dive into each of these laws showing how you can use them to create a system and become fully equipped to finally let good habits emerge and the bad ones wither away.
Since this is what the author actually promises to deliver, I don’t think there is anything left for me to talk about the content of the book.
Conclusion
James acknowledges the fact that these laws may not apply to change every single human behavior, but this is the closest he can get.
In my personal opinion, these laws apply to almost any field, from sports to politics, art to medicine, comedy to management. There is no need to have a different strategy for each habit when these laws can be utilized no matter what challenge you are facing.
One of the best things about the book is that it is written in a simple, plain, and concise manner. Every chapter has a clear point to make and is short and easy to read along with detailed, yet concise, strategies that are immediately applicable in everyday life.
Atomic Habits helped me to change my perspective about goals, work, and life itself. It made me realize that success is not about achieving a goal or crossing a finish line. It is a system that requires constant improvement and endless refinement.
There are no permanent solutions. This a continuous process with no finish line. And the best way to stay focussed, happy, motivated, and successful is to live in the present by trying to get better 1% every day instead of contemplating past mistakes and gloating over future goals. As Seneca wrote:
A number of our blessings do us harm, for memory brings back the agony of fear while foresight brings it on prematurely. No one confines his unhappiness to the present.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to transform their lives but are struggling to do so, as well as to those who have already achieved their goals but are striving to keep up their progress.
I believe that the author has not just, what most authors or editors like to do, and come up with a catchy and provocative subtitle, but he has actually done an extraordinary job to provide the reader with…
An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones.
My Rating:
