"It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led to your past behavior. You have a new goal and a new plan, but you haven’t changed who you are."
— James Clear ,October 16, 2018 Atomic Habits
Hello hello, everyone! It's great to be back again. How's everyone doing? I hope you're all doing well. It's me again, haruki.tls123, returning with another exciting blog post. So for our today's blog, let's dive into our second book review. In our first review, we've analyzed the book "It Ends With Us." Now, we'll shift our focus to another book that holds a special place in my heart, "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. In this blog let's review it and let me tell y'all guys why this book has become one of my all-time favorites and how this book gives me some lessons in life 🍀.
This is a book I’ve already read for quite a months and yeah I've actually been recommending this book to some people. In fact, I recommended this book to my classmate and the he ended up using the book as the basis of his daily healthy lifestyle and habits. I had to admit, this book can change you a lot HHHAHAHAHAH promise.
About The Book:
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear is a hugely popular book, with over 5 million copies sold worldwide. It has stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for more than 100 weeks and has a top-notch 5-star rating on Amazon, backed by over 65,000 reviews. This book is all about helping you develop good habits while breaking free from bad ones. It explains that success isn't about giant leaps but about doing small, positive things consistently every day. Imagine building something big by putting together tiny, meaningful actions, much like how atoms join to create something significant.
In "Atomic Habits," James Clear shares powerful insights on how small changes can lead to big transformations. He emphasizes the impact of tiny improvements, using relatable examples to show how 1% progress each day adds up over time. Clear's approach is practical and actionable, making it easier for readers to apply his advice to their daily lives. Whether you're aiming for personal growth, better productivity, or achieving your goals, this book offers valuable strategies to help you get there step by step.
Inside Of The Book:
James Clear presents a straightforward framework for creating and breaking habits in his book. He breaks down habits into four key stages: Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward. Understanding and optimizing these stages are crucial for developing new habits successfully.
Clear also introduces four laws of behavior change that form the backbone of his approach. He emphasizes the importance of aligning our habits with the type of person we aspire to be. The insights of it provides a roadmap for anyone looking to make lasting changes in their lives by leveraging the power of habits and identity.
The Four Laws Of Clear:
Clear makes many observations about habit formation throughout the book which is explained in his 4 laws that will aid in giving the discussion of habits a better grounding in the actual experience of building habits, rather than simply the mechanics.
First Law: Make It Obvious
— The first law discussed in is about making habits obvious which is introduced in two effective strategies: Implementation Intention and Habit Stacking. Implementation Intention involves setting a specific time and date to perform a new habit. This strategy is helpful for habits that are not part of your daily routine. For example, if meal planning is a weekly task for you, specifying the exact time and day to do it can make it easier to stick with. On the other hand, Habit Stacking involves attaching a new habit to an existing one. This method works well for incorporating a new habit seamlessly into your daily activities. One way I implemented Habit Stacking in my routine was by linking stretching exercises to my morning alarm. As soon as my alarm goes off, instead of snoozing, I immediately start a short stretching session.
2nd Law: Make It Attractive
— The second law that discussed in this book is about making habits attractive. James Clear emphasizes that the expectation of a rewarding experience is what keeps us motivated to stick with good habits. Instead of focusing on the drawbacks of a habit, highlighting its benefits makes it more appealing. Additionally, the book suggests surrounding yourself with people who already have the habits you aspire to develop. This creates a supportive environment where everyone motivates and uplifts each other, leading to collective growth.
3rd Law: Make It Easy!
— So next, third law focuses on making habits easy to stick with. According to the author, the key to maintaining a habit is to make it require minimal energy. The easier a habit is to do, the more likely it is to become a regular part of our routine. One way to make habits easier is by shaping our environment, as suggested in the book. I've personally found this approach particularly effective in combating bad habits. Additionally, the author introduces the concept of the 2-minute rule, which states that if we can break a task down to be done in just 2 minutes, it becomes more manageable and increases the likelihood of us sticking with it. For instance, spending just 2 minutes folding clothes or meditating may seem small, but it's the consistency and progress that matter, not perfection ⛔👌.
4th Law: Make It Satisfying 🤌🏻
— Lastly, the fourth law emphasizes the importance of making habits satisfying to repeat them consistently. When a habit brings immediate satisfaction, we are more inclined to continue doing it regularly. The author also highlights an important aspect regarding consequences. Bad habits often have delayed consequences, while their rewards are immediate. This dynamic can influence our behavior significantly, making it crucial to consider the long-term effects of our habits. To enhance the satisfaction of our habits, the book introduces a habit tracker as a useful tool. Tracking our habits not only helps us monitor our progress but also provides a sense of satisfaction as we see ourselves making strides towards our goals 💪🏻🏆.
Lessons That I've Learned:
After reading through this or if you're just starting, let me know if nothing changes in you afterward! Haha, there definitely will be changes, I promise! I've learned a lot of lessons from this book, and here are a few of them:
It's about small gains, not big changes. Most of our progress in work and life comes from making small improvements regularly, not from huge, sudden transformations. For example, making small changes to how I work every day has made me a better employee over time, more than any big changes I've made all at once. Small, regular improvements add up over time, just like how small, regular savings build wealth in the long run.
The beginning of forming a new habit can be tough. There's often a period at the start of a new habit where we don't see immediate rewards. This delay can make us feel like giving up before we start seeing real benefits. It takes a bit of belief in the process and consistency before we start feeling the positive effects of our efforts.
Connect the changes you make to the person you want to be. Improving just for the sake of it might be okay for some, but for many of us, we make changes in our lives to become the person we aspire to be. Knowing the kind of person we want to become helps us set the context for building new habits effectively.
Having a good system is more important than setting goals. The book talks about having a process or system for making positive changes, which is more crucial than just setting goals. Goals can change over time, but with a good system, we can adapt better to shifting circumstances.
The 'Goldilocks Rule'. As we get better at something, keeping our interest might mean pushing ourselves just beyond our comfort zone. Challenging ourselves is key to staying motivated and engaged in what we're doing.
These lessons have really changed how I approach building habits and making positive changes in my life.
As I end this blog post, I hope you've inspired to read the book by James Clear titled "Atomic Habits" because it offers valuable strategies to turn your aspirations into reality, but it doesn't answer the deeper questions about meaning and purpose in life. Whether you aim to improve as a student, friend, parent, or in other areas like wealth or health, the choice is yours to make.
It's important to note that this observation serves only as guides for the process of change, not the ultimate destination. If you feel a sense of emptiness after reading such books, it may be because they offer strategies without a clear purpose in your life. Finding that bigger vision may require looking beyond these books^^ 📚
Thank you to all the readers for taking the time to read my blog. Until then, see you in my next post!
haruki.tls123 out! sayonara<3 ❤️