Atomic Habits, the book that influenced me to better my life

One of my goals for 2022 was to read more books. During college I took a social media break and filled the time I’d usually spend scrolling to read a book. During that two-month period, I read 6 books! I used to leisure-read a lot as a kid and it’s something that I’ve been wanting to get back into. My latest interest in the reading sphere has been self-help books. I like to learn different perspectives and learn different ways that I can improve the quality of my life. The first book I read this year was Atomic Habits by James Clear, and it has totally changed the way I look at life.

Atomic Habits is a book backed by research, trials, and psychological studies explaining the best ways to achieve what you want in life. The book is a light read, but keeps you engaged from start to finish. There are some diagrams and testimonies/stories to back up the statements.

I’ve been suggesting this book to so many of my friends and family because everything just makes sense. I had many moments where I found myself going, “Duh Brittney, why didn’t you think of that before?!” The way James Clear words this new way of thinking makes lightbulbs go off in your head. Here are my top three takeaways from Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Creating Systems instead of Goal Setting:

The theory of Atomic Habits is to get rid of the idea of setting goals and creating life-long sustainable systems to achieve what you want out of life. Sure, it sounds a lot like goal setting, but in this book, it explains that sometimes having a goal also has an end date. Creating these sustainable systems is a lot of work on the individual. It’s recognizing the type of life you want to live, and making small 1% improvements daily through habits. Clear states, “Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”

Through building systems of small habits, you are working towards becoming the person or living the lifestyle you want to live. When you achieve a goal it is only momentary change and happiness, but you could go right back to square one in a matter of time. By falling in love with the system you build towards your better overall quality of life, you can not only hit these “goals” but make the benefit everlasting.

The Secret to Self-Control:

(TW binge eating)

I’ll be honest with you; I have Googled how to improve self-control and the topic is something I think about very often. Whether that be through impulses to be unproductive, spending money, eating (phew), or anything I deem as a “bad habit”, I hope I’m not alone when I say that it takes a lot of brain power to switch off that urge. Thankfully, Clear shares the secret to self-control.

When creating habits, it’s important to remember the timeline of habits. It starts off with a cue, then the craving sets, then response, and finally the outcome. The people with the best willpower are the ones who need to use it the least. This is where the system setting comes in. The habits should turn from thoughtful actions that an individual works on, to being something they don’t need to think much of. The secret is to make the cues of positive habits obvious, and the cues of negative habits invisible. It’s easier to avoid temptation than to resist it.

For example, I have a bad habit of binge eating ‘junk food’ after work and then feel sickly full after. When I walk through the door at home my first instinct is to look on the counter for something to eat. To change this habit of mine, I’ve moved all snacks off the counter to the cupboard and put the healthier snacks in the fridge or in the front of the pantry. I know I’ll be very tired after work, so I won’t put much effort to reach all the way to the back of the pantry for the unhealthy snacks. It’s practically hidden back there, making it easily avoidable. Through this system, I have started to crave more nutrient-dense and healthy snacks after work because the other snacks are hidden.

The Law of Least Effort:

“Work smart, not hard” is one of the main mottos of my life. It’s all about being efficient and saving time and energy. That’s why when I heard of “The Law of Least Effort” in Atomic Habits, I had a “Duh Brittney!” moment. People will naturally gravitate to the option that requires the least amount of energy/work. If you can make your good habits more convenient, you’ll be more likely to follow through on them. You may be thinking, “duh, Britt that’s common sense” but hear me out, it’s harder than it seems.

If you think about it, the reason why bad habits are so easy to repeat is because they’re so easy to do. Can you imagine doing a troublesome 12 step process to do the bad habit? This was a mind-blowing revelation for me. James Clear adds to this law, the theory of “Addition by subtraction”. By removing points of friction for a good habit, you can have an easier time doing the action. The goal is to create an environment where good habits are frictionless, and bad habits have increased friction. To build these sustainable systems, we must redesign our lives so that actions that are most important are the easiest to do.

For example, on my days off from my second job I want to replace that time I’d spend in the dance studio with time spent working out/exercising. I’ve gotten into the habit of pre-setting my workout clothes, shoes, and pre-workout drink, and choosing my workout the day before, so that preparing to workout is easy for me to do the next day. It’ll take little to no effort to think about doing these things because past-me did half the work already! By being dressed and caffeinated to exercise, I am more likely to follow through with this good habit.

If any of my Aha! Moments shattered glass for you like it did for me, I highly suggest you read the rest of Atomic Habits by James Clear. He elaborates on more of his “laws” and even has a free workbook to help with setting these life systems to encourage people become the person they want to be. I am still doing the work to get my systems in check, starting little by little. Remember, a small 1% change daily will result in exponential progress over time. Reading this book was life changing for me, and whenever I hear someone complain about something they “cannot” do I now think, “they must not have a system”.

Do you have any book suggestions for me to read next? I’d love to give different genres a try. Let me know in a comment! Until next time…