While summarising the lessons from Atomic Habits by James Clear, I cannot get rid of the memory of reading it for the first time over three years ago.
Well, I didn’t really read it. I listened to it for free on Audible while crafting in my art journal. I remember I wanted to listen to something, and I had heard so much about Atomic Habits that I decided to see what the fuss was about.
15 minutes into listening to the book, I realized that I was paying attention to the book only and not to my art journal. I left the glue aside and grabbed a pen instead, taking notes and listening to the golden nuggets in it.
For the sake of this post, I had to go back and revisit my notes from that day (yes, I finished listening to it in a day).
So here are my top lessons from Atomic Habits that might be useful to you as well. Adding a few pinches of quotes here and there to make things even more interesting.
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Lesson One From Atomic Habits: Immediate rewards work better
Habits are mental shortcuts learnt from experience.
JAmes Clear
Having an immediate reward after performing a task (one we’d like to turn into a habit) increases the chances of repeating that task.
This certainly isn’t the first thing you will note down as a lesson from the book. However, in my eyes, it is the best starting point for this article. Why?
Because you, me, and another 8 billion people on this planet have been slowly progressing into glued-to-the-screens beings that crave instant rewards after every click, step, and scroll. Sorry, but it’s true, and science confirms it, saying that we have an attention span of 8.25 seconds. Embarrassing, I know.
But that only proves my point. Unless we have immediate rewards after performing a task, we are less likely to repeat it, especially if it wasn’t something we enjoyed.
This leads me to…
Lesson Two from Atomic Habits: You don’t have to climb the mountain today
Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound and turn into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
James Clear
Nobody woke up and changed their lives in a matter of a day. We talk about willingly changing behavior and mindset, plus achieving immediate progress. It doesn’t work like that.
Instead, James Clear talks about Compound Growth, emphasizing the importance of small micro habits that, over time, lead to big changes.
Storytime
I once worked at a bank and had a colleague with impressive six-pack abs. Even though she had a toddler, her physique was what many women aspired to. We all assumed she must’ve spent countless hours at the gym. We were very wrong, though!
She revealed that every day after returning home, before diving into cooking or parenting duties, she committed to a 15-minute HIIT workout. This was a non-negotiable routine. Everyone in her household was aware of this ritual and ensured she had those uninterrupted 15 minutes. She maintained this routine six days a week for several months. All within 15 minutes, using minimal equipment, right at home, while her toddler was in the next room.
No excuses and not more than 15 minutes.
That is the power of compound growth: small daily improvements that pile up over time to give us big results.
Lesson Three from Atomic Habits: Learn the Boring Details
I understand not everyone feels this way, but when I have to memorize facts or understand a concept, I get easily distracted. My creative mind tends to forget specifics like dates, percentages, and processes quickly, especially if they don’t intrigue me.
However, understanding how our brains function regarding habits is crucial for self-improvement.
James Clear discusses the habit loop in his book, and it’s one of the few concepts I needed to search online to visualize and grasp fully. The habit loop consists of four primary points:
- Cue (which I secretly call Cute, so it sounds more memorable): This is the starting point when something catches our attention and leads to the second point. Let’s say it’s the moment when you see a piece of chocolate cake. It immediately leads to…
- Craving: Craving is the force behind performing a habit. It’s the “taste” of the cake before we actually have it. It acts like motivation to grab the little spoon and …
- Respond: It’s the act of performing the habit, or in our case, we eat the delicious piece of cake with passion and dedication.
- Reward: The cake is just as delicious as we imagined. The boost of sugar gives us energy and causes a tiny happiness boost. The reward is immediate. So from now on, every time we come across a piece of chocolate cake, it’s a cue that creates the craving until we respond and get our reward.
That is the loop. And it’s so stupidly simple and makes perfect sense; it’s almost embarrassing we don’t all know about it.
Lesson Four: Systems, not goals
Goals are good for setting a direction but systems are best for making progress.
James Clear
Did you know that the “happiness stage” of a goal you’ve achieved is significantly shorter than the amount of time that it took you to accomplish that goal? Yes, we get accustomed to new “better” reality fairly quickly and could feel even depressed once a goal is achieved.
It could be because the outcome didn’t match our expectations, but that usually isn’t the case.
In fact, the moment we achieve a goal, most of us celebrate it for a day or two (if not even less) and start thinking of our next goal.
These facts tell me two things:
- Humans always need something to look forward to and work toward.
- If we don’t enjoy achieving a goal, it isn’t worth having it because the “celebration” is usually short-lived.
Therefore, the third lesson from Atomic Habits you should note down is this: Enjoy the system, the process of doing something, because it is the longer part of it all.
And by “enjoying,” I don’t mean beam with happiness, but have a positive and self-approving mindset about it: you chose to do it, after all.
Lesson Five: Have a vision of who you want to become
Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.
James Clear
Imagine we’re in an open field. If I suddenly tell you, “Run!” and just stand there watching, you’d probably ask, “Why?” And if I mention a wild animal nearby, you’d want to know where it is. Once you have that information, you’d start running.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
When told to “Work hard!” or “Give it your all!”, we often agree without thinking. But do we truly know our end goal? What’s the purpose behind all the effort? Without a clear vision of our aspirations, just “working hard” might not take us very far.
We all deal with setbacks but in the long run the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.
James Clear
Imagine frequently indulging in chocolate cake. Enjoying it occasionally is no harm. But what if it became a daily treat? Or what if any cake you came across became irresistible? If you’ve formed a habit of responding to certain triggers and cravings, resisting those tempting sweets and cakes can become a real challenge.
Fast forward a few weeks or months, and that daily slice of chocolate cake might not seem to make a difference. But a year of this indulgence could impact your health and even lead to dental problems. Not to mention the challenge of breaking that sugary habit.
This cake analogy stands for any detrimental habit we might give into. Our brain craves certain things without discerning whether they’re good or bad for us. It’s on us to decide how we respond to these urges.
One profound takeaway from “Atomic Habits” is the importance of mastering and steering our habits. We have the power to rewire ourselves, to derive pleasure from positive actions just as we once did from negative ones.
5 Top Lessons from “Atomic Habits” That Will Change The Way You Live Your Days
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