Book Synopsis: Atomic Habits | 5 Key takeaways

Atomic habits is one of the most practical books written on the science of Habits. It is penned down by James Clear. It explains how to form a habit by a scientific approach from examples of sports, business, and education. It basically explains four laws of developing good habits in life and breaking the bad ones. We would dive into five key takeaways discussed in the book.

1 % better rule:

James Clear explains that we often tend to think that big changes in life are brought by some major changes. For great transformations, you have to pass through tons of big decisions, activities, and planning. But the success, in reality, is the compound effect of some minor changes which we bring into our lives. He explains the idea of a 1% better rule. Think you get better 1 % better every day for one year that would result in 37% better as compared to the last time you started it. But what if you keep on getting bad 1 % every day that would result in a 0.03 % improvement then last time. You should be more concerned about your direction where you are heading instead of your current results.

1.01 to power 365 = 37.78

1 % worse everyday for one year

0.99 to power 365 = 00.03

. He quotes:

“You get what you repeat.”

2. Plateau principal:

“The most powerful outcomes are delayed.”

James clear focuses on the core idea that the work you have to put in before getting results is enormous. Every single time when you try to develop a habit you face a “ Valley of disappointment”. As the craving for the reward arises we want to accomplish it. But every single time when we fail. The reason is we want to make progress in a very linear fashion which keeps on growing. Instead of viewing it as a graph that does not move in an ever-increasing fashion. Rather it moves the opposite way for a very long time. You do not get the results you want because they are always delayed. They keep on growing until you reach a threshold where you can really see your progress. But what happens with all the previous work you had done before? It is stored and it’s the stored energy’s consequence that you are really feeling progress.

3.Habit Loop:

The fundamental of building a habit is a simple four-step process: Cue, Craving, Response, Reward Cue is the signal triggering an action. it is linked with reward and it has its own evolutionary significance. Our forefathers the hunter-gathers were always in the search of cues such as food, water, and sex. The next step is Craving. It is fundamentally the force or motivation to act. Without craving, there is no action. “ What you crave is not the habit but the change in state it delivers.” The emotions or craving fundamentally shape our actions. Next is Response: It is the actions that are being taken. you take action based on how motivated you are or how much resistance is present. Here the craving for the reward plays its role. Reward: The end product of a habit or action is the reward. We look for rewards because they serve two purposes:

“The cue is about noticing the reward. The craving is about wanting the reward. The response is about obtaining the reward.”

4.Three layers of behavior change:

Changing outcomes: It is the level of change that we want in the first place. it is the layer of of changing your results.

Changing process: It is concerned with changing your habits and routines.

Changing identity: It is concerned with the identity of one.

James Clear quotes: “Outcomes are what you get. The process is what you do. Identity is what you believe”. Here a fundamental mistake people make while concerning these two. They approach them as outcome-based. it means they are building habits by keeping in view their destination. the example which James clear gives is: They are two people resisting the cigarette. one says, “ No thanks. I am trying to quit.” This means that person is a smoker who is trying to be something else. The other one says, “ No, I am not a smoker.” The identity of which you are proud, there you will more motivated. So to start a habit focus on making it part of identity then work in the process and the outcome would become a by-product.

“1. The goal is not to read a book, but to become a reader.” "

2.The goal is not to run a marathon, but to become a runner." "3. The goal is not to play an instrument, but to be a musician."

5.How to figure out the game where odds are in your favor:

We are often being intoxicated by society with certain choices which we make relating to career. but often that field is full of competition. You are running a race where most of the horses are running. What if you are running a race where you are alone or with less competition in a race. You have to actively figure it out. James Clear suggests the following questions to ask:

1.What seems fun to you but works for others?

2.What makes me lose track of time?

3.Where do I get greater returns than the average person?

Scott Adams says: “Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort.”

“ When you can’t win by being better, you can win by being different.”

Originally published at https://theobstacleguy.com on January 12, 2021.