Rating: 7/10
Lessons From 'Atomic Habits'
- Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you're willing to stick with them for years.
- A slight change in your daily habits can guide your life to a very different destination. Making a choice that is 1% better or 1% worse seems insignificant in the moment, but over the span of moments that make up a lifetime these choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be.
- True long term thinking is goal-less thinking. It's not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.
- Changing our habits is challenging for 2 reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.
- The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
- True behavior change is identity change. You might start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you'll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity.
- Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.
The Four Laws of Behavior Change
1. The 1st Law: Make it Obvious
- The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.
- Being specific about what you want and how you will achieve it helps you say no to things that derail progress, distract your attention, and pull you off course.
- Implementation intention formula = I will [behavior] at [time] in [location].
- Habit stacking formula = After [current habit], I will [new habit].
- Every habit is initiated by a cue. We are more likely to notice cues that stand out. Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment. Gradually, your habits become associated not with a single trigger, but with the entire context surrounding the behavior.
2. The 2nd Law: Make it Attractive
- The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.
- Habit stacking + temptation bundling formula = After [current habit], I will [habit I need]. After [habit I need], I will [habit I want].
- Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself.
- Reframing your habits to highlight their benefits rather than their drawbacks is a fast and lightweight way to reprogram your mind and make a habit seem more attractive - I get to, rather than I have to.
- Create a motivational ritual by doing something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.
3. The 3rd Law: Make it Easy
- If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.
- If you can make your good habits more convenient, you'll be more likely to follow through on them.
- Use the 2 minute rule - downscale your habits until they can be done in 2 minutes or less.
- Automate your habits. Invest in technology and onetime purchases that lock in future behavior.
4. The 4th Law: Make it Satisfying
- The cardinal rule of behavior change - what is immediately rewarded is repeated; what is immediately punished is avoided.
- A habit needs to be enjoyable for it to last. Simple bits of reinforcement can offer the immediate pleasure you need to enjoy a habit.
- Habit tracking (1) creates a visual cue that can remind you to act, (2) is inherently motivating because you see the progress you are making and don't want to lose it, and (3) feels satisfying when you record another successful instance of your habit.
- Habit stacking + habit tracking formula = After [current habit], I will [track my habit].
How to go from being merely good to being truly great
- One of the best ways to ensure your habits remain satisfying over the long run is to pick behaviors that align with your personality and skills. Work hard on the things that come easy.
- You need to regularly search for challenges that push you to your edge while continuing to make enough progress to stay motivated. Behaviors need to maintain novel in order for them to stay attractive and satisfying.
- The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.
- Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery
- Mastery is the process of narrowing your focus to a tiny element of success, repeating it until you have internalized the skill, and then using this new habit as the foundation to advance to the next frontier of your development.
- Reflection and review enables the long-term improvement of all habits because it makes you aware of your mistakes and helps you consider possible paths for improvement.
