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Atomic Habits

Atomic Habits

by Joe · 331 things on Twos

Atomic Habits: Summary
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By James Clear
a•tom•ic
An extremely small amount of a thing; the single irreducible unit of a larger system
The source of immense energy or power
hab•it
A routine or practice performed regularly; an automatic response to a specific situation
The quality of our life depends on the quality of our habits
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Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of 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
Habits often appear to make no difference until you cross a critical threshold and unlock a new level of performance
“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it - but all that have gone before” - Jacob Riis San Antonio Spurs
We often expect progress to be linear
The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision
Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment
We think we need to change our results, but in reality we need to change the system that cause those results
Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves
“The score takes care of itself” -Bill Walsh
It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement
“Habits like exercise, meditation, journaling, and cooking are reasonable for a day or two but then become a hassle” 😂
Chapter 2: How Your Habits Shape Your Identity
Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons:
We try to change the wrong thing
We try to change our habits in the wrong way
Outcomes are what you get
Processes are what you do
Identity is about what you believe
The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity
Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits
Act like the type of person you already believe yourself to be
Progress requires unlearning
Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to upgrade and expand your identity
The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior
Identity is literally your repeated beingness
The process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself
Each habit is like a suggestion: “Hey, maybe this is who I am”
Decide the type of person you want to be
Prove it to yourself with small wins
Who is the type of person that can run a successful startup
You need to know who you want to be
The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results but because they can change your beliefs about yourself
Chapter 3: How to Build Better Habits in Four Simple Steps
"Behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated and those that produce unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated"
Habits are, simply, reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment
Now, whenever you feel stressed, you get the itch to run.
Habits are mental shortcuts learned from experience
The primary reason the brain remembers the past is to better predict what may happen in the future
Science of how habits work
Cue (noticing the reward)
Triggers your brain to initiate a behavior
A bit of information that predicts a reward
Craving (wanting the reward)
Motivational force behind every habit
Without craving a change, we have no reason to act
What you crave is not the habit itself, but the change in state it delivers
The thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the observer are what transform
The thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the observer are what transform a cue into a craving
Response (obtaining the reward)
The actual habit you perform (can be a thought or an action)
Whether a response occurs depends on how motivated you are and how much friction is observed with the behavior
Reward
The end goal of every habit
Meant to satisfy your craving
Complete the habit cycle
Your mind is constantly analyzing your internal and external environment for hints of where rewards are located
The problem phase includes the cue and the craving
The solution phase includes the response and the reward
All behavior is driven by the desire to solve a problem
How to create a good habit
Cue (Make it obvious)
Craving (Make it attractive)
Response (Make it easy)
Reward (Make it satisfying)
How to break a bad habit
Cue (Make it invisible)
Craving (Make it unattractive)
Response (Make it difficult)
Reward (Make it unsatisfying)
Chapter 4: The Man Who Didn't Look Right
Every goal is doomed to fail if it goes against the grain of your human nature
You don't need to be aware of the queue for a habit to begin
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
The more automatic behavior becomes, the less likely we are to consciously think about it
My Habits Score Card
For this exercise, categorize your habits by how they will benefit you in the long run
"Does this habit help me become the type of person I wish to be?"
Use the point and call system if necessary
Chapter 5: The Best Way to Start a New Habit
Implementation intention - how you intend to implement a particular habit
When situation X arises, I will perform response Y
I will [behavior] at [time] in [location]
Habit stacking: a simple plan to overhaul your habits
Identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top
After I [current habit], I will [new habit]
You can also insert new behaviors into the middle of your current routine. Like placing a book on your pillow when you make your bed in the morning.
Consider when you are most likely to be successful
Chapter 6: Motivation is Overrated, Environment Often Matters More
The more tightly bound your new habit is to a specific cue, the better the odds are that you will notice when the time comes to act
Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior
Some experts estimate that half of the brain’s resources are used on vision
When the cues that spark a habit are subtle or hidden, they are easy to ignore
Sprinkle triggers throughout your surroundings to increase the odds that you’ll think about your habit throughout the day
Most people live in a world others have created for them. Be the designer of your works and not merely the consumer of it.
Create new routines in new environments
✓ Prevent from mixing habits by dividing each space into one action. Aka delete social media off my phone if I can appropriately get it done on my computer
“Disciplined people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control”
They spend less time in tempting situations
Create a more disciplined environment = become a more disciplined person
A habit that has been encoded in the mind is ready to be used whenever the relevant situation arises
One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it
If you can’t get any work done, leave your phone in another room for a few hours
If you feel like you’re not enough, stop following social media accounts that trigger jealousy
If you’re wasting too much time watching TV, move it out of the bedroom
If you’re playing too many video games, unplug the console and put it in a closet after each use
Chapter 7: The Secret to Self-Control
Removing a single cue and the entire habit can fade away
Optimize your environment instead of leaning into will power
Make the cues of your good habits obvious and the cues of your bad ones invisible
How to create a good habit
How to break a bad habit
Chapter 8: How to Make a Habit Irresistible
Supernormal stimuli - a heightened version of reality elicits a stronger response than usual
The modern food industry relies on stretching our Paleolithic and stinks beyond their evolutionary purpose
Orosensation: the feeling of a food in your mouth
Dopamine be important
Rat experiment that blocked electrodes and dopamine until they lost all will to live
It is the anticipation of reward, not the fulfillment of it, that gets us to take action
The wanting centers of your brain are much larger than the liking centers
Premack’s principle: more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors
The habit stacking + temptation bundling formula:
After I [current habit], I will [habit I need]
After I [habit I need], I will [habit I want]
If you want to check Facebook, but you need to exercise more:
After I pull out my phone, I will do ten burpees [need]
After I do ten burpees, I will check Facebook [want]
Chapter 9: The Role of Friends and Family in Shaping Your Habits
We imitate the habits of three groups in particular
The close
The many
The powerful
One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the norm
Or you already have something in common with the group
Nothing sustains motivation better than being part of a tribe
The reward of being accepted is often greater than the reward of winning an argument, looking smart, or finding truth
You can choose to ignore the group or stop caring what other people think – but it takes work
High status people enjoy the approval, respect, and praise of others
Chapter 10: How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your Bad Habits
Every behavior has a surface level craving and a deeper, underlying motive.
Conserve energy
Obtain food and water
Find love and reproduce
Connect and bond with others
Win social acceptance and approval
Reduce uncertainty
Achieve status and prestige
A craving is just a specific manifestation of a deeper underlying motive
Twos needs to latch onto an underlying motive of human nature
Reduce uncertainty
Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires
Your current habits are not necessarily the best way to solve the problems you face; they are just methods you learned to use
Once you associate a solution with the problem you need to solve, you will keep coming back to it
Every time you perceive a cue, your brain runs a simulation and makes a prediction about what to do in the next moment
Cue: You see that the traffic light turned green
Prediction: If I step on the gas, i'll make it safely through the intersection and get closer to my destination, so I should step on the gas
You see a cue, categorize it based on past experience, and determine the appropriate response.
Every action is preceded by a prediction
Life feels reactive, but it is actually predictive
You are endlessly predicting what will happen in the next moment
Our behavior is heavily dependent on how we interpret events will effect us
The cause of your habits is actually the prediction that precedes them and these predictions lead to a feeling
A craving is the sense that something is missing. It is the desire to change your internal state. This gap between your current state and your desired state provides a reason to act
Event the tiniest action is tinged with the motivation to feel differently
You can make hard habits more attractive if you can learn to associate them with a positive experience
From: I have to wake up early for work
To: I get to wake up early for work
Many people associate exercise with being a challenging task that drains energy and wears you down. You can just as easily associate it with time to build energy and get fast
Saving money increases you purchasing power next month
To take it a step further you can create motivation rituals
Associate your habits with something you enjoy and use that cue wehe
Athletes use pre-game rituals to help them get into game-mode
Authors put in headphones to help them focus
Find something that makes you truly happy and then create a short routine that you perform every time before you do the things you love
Like taking three deep breaths and smile
Then perform this routine whenever you need it
Once a habit has been built, the cue can prompt a craving, even if it has little to do with the situation
The key to finding and fixing the causes of your bad habits is to reframe the associations you have about them.
Chapter 11: Walk Slowly, but Never Backward
Don't delay for the best approach, take action
The difference between being in motion and action
In motion is when you're planning, strategizing and learning - good things but do not produce a result