Book Review: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Welcome to another CGInspo book review! As you may know if you’ve been following my Read Along page, I just finished up Atomic Habits [affiliate link]. Atomic habits are the tiny habits we do regularly that help define not only the goals we want to achieve, but the person we want to become. I found so many things useful about this book. Perhaps the most impactful, for me, was the idea that it’s not really about the outcome you want. It’s about who you want to become. The idea that you should not think of yourself as someone who is trying to do something. Instead, you should think of yourself as someone who is trying to become something. Let’s have a look!

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About the Author

James Clear is the author and creator of jamesclear.com. He opens the book Atomic Habits by describing an accident when he was a kid which had an enormous impact on him, changing his mindset, outlook, and what he thought he’d be doing for the rest of his life. Mr. Clear is a lifelong learner that is interested in a variety of topics, and brings intensity and clarity to his articles, books, and speaking engagements. He also sends out the 3-2-1 newsletter, which I subscribed to! Check it out, you may like it also.

You can read more about him in his About page on jamesclear.com and you can follow him on Facebook as well.

Atomic Habits

I don’t recall how I came across this book, but I’m glad I did. As I mentioned, one of the key concepts in this book is that it is not about the outcome. It is about becoming something, not achieving something. The layering of small changes, one on top of the other, to change who you are, and to create systems that support that “you” that you are becoming.

Systems

James describes the process of identity-based changes as opposed to outcome-based changes: “You need to know who you want to be. Otherwise, your quest for change is like a boat without a rudder.” He calls the habits you use to reinforce the identity you want as your systems. These are the processes you’re following to change who you are, to become the person you want to be.

He says the process for changing who you are is “a simple two-step process”:

1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

As you know, I’m a big advocate for celebrating the small wins. Don’t wait for those huge, major accomplishments to celebrate your achievements. It’s the small wins, the tiny habits, which prove to yourself that you are making progress in becoming the type of person you want to be.

Having good habits that reinforce the identity you want is how you can change yourself. As James says, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Don’t Get Bogged Down In “Efficiency”

Something that really spoke to me was how much time we spend trying to figure out the “best” or “fastest” way to do something. When we spend so much time trying to figure out the “best” or “fastest” approach, we end up never taking meaningful action. He quotes Voltaire when he reminds us, “the best is the enemy of the good.”

This is similar to what we’ve talked about before, the trap of perfectionism. When we’re so focused on the outcome, on having the perfect approach, or doing it “just right”, we never get out of that circular “tweaking” mode. We never get around to actually doing something. By being so worried about how we’re doing something, we lose traction, momentum, and the goal moves further and further away.

The 4 Laws and More

In Atomic Habits, James goes over his four laws for changing your habits. You need to make them:

• Obvious
• Attractive
• Easy
• Satisfying

He guides you through what each of those things means, and how to do each of them. He has clearly done his research on the power of habits, why they are important, and what you need in order to make your habits permanent and lasting.

At the end, he gives some ideas on some more advanced tactics, explores ideas about talent and genes, and how to stay motivated. In the appendix, he talks about how to apply these ideas to business and to parenting.

Wrap Up

I definitely recommend this book. I’ve been able to try several of the exercises he describes in the book, like making a master list of my current habits and designing a new routine that includes the habits that will better support the person I want to become. I’ve been able to apply some of his ideas to my weight loss journey, my attempts to have a cleaner home environment, and my work. I plan to re-read it as often as necessary and review my (copious) notes to continue my growth and development of the person I want to become. If this sounds like something you want too, I definitely recommend that you read this!

Over to You