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Atomic Habits – a book I first heard about in a radio ad. Usually I listen exclusively to music and as soon as I hear someone speaking I switch to another station, whether it is a radio show or an advertisement. And this time I also heard the ad and impulsively switched stations, but in this case I quickly returned back to the channel. Something piqued my interest. An advertisement about a book that can help you achieve more by concentrating on less – I’ll have to check that out, I thought. After all, in the past (a long time ago) it seemed that change should happen suddenly, and here it was announced: small changes – significant results. It seems someone had understood and explained about the importance of tiny little things in everyday life. In a note-taking app I wrote down the title of the book so I wouldn’t forget it, and when I had a free minute, I googled what kind of book it was. It piqued my interest, so I bought it.
I read slowly – I am a promoter of slow reading. My goal is not to read as quickly as possible, but to discover and use information that is useful for the realization of my aspirations. The book begins with James Clear’s personal story. And it’s perfectly clear why. As the entrepreneur and investor, Naval Ravikant has said, “If you want to write a good book, you must first become a book yourself.” So James Clear did exactly that. For several years, he wrote down his observations about his experiments in developing habits and eventually shared his observations with the public.
Why small changes are so important
Many people have one goal or another. It can be anyone. To write a screenplay or book, to start a successful business, create your own fashion house, make a childhood dream come true, win a championship, etc.
“We’re putting pressure on ourselves to make some breathtaking change that everyone would talk about.”
It seems that only by making an impressive leap will we be satisfied. We want to create something impressive right away. This is where we set traps for ourselves, because we no longer provide an opportunity to just start and see what comes out of it. We want those “fireworks” here and now – a fantastic result. Then there is natural confusion in the mind. If you have not done sports before and set a goal to win a 15 kilometer running race in the next 3 months – this naturally becomes an unattainable goal. Enthusiasm disappears before you even start working. What if we take a small step towards the goal? As the book says: even a small 1% change that seems insignificant makes the difference between who you are and who you could be.
“You should be much more concerned with the current path than the current results.”
About results. This book talks about them coming naturally. Maybe someone is bringing them on a silver platter! No. No one brings anything to anyone and everyone knows that.
The only excuse for doing it every day is getting better and better and it happens by doing, not planning to do it. It is also important to choose strategies to do it as best as possible, because after all, if the same mistakes are repeated, the result will be the same.
“Goals are the results you want to achieve. Systems are the processes that lead to these results.”
When you emphasize the goal you are programming yourself for later happiness. When business thrives, when I lose weight, when I build muscle, when I write a book, when I change jobs. Happiness when something happens, but not here and now.
“When you start to like the process, not the result, you don’t have to wait until you can afford to be happy.”
Loving the process is the most direct path to success. I realized that about five years ago when I hadn’t read the book yet. And now that I am reading these verses, I realize that I am not the only one to understand it. Hooray! – a confirmation that it works!
Personality and habits
I am deeply convinced that habits shape personality, but habits are formed by ourselves, so all power is in our hands. I understand that it is very easy to write down my habits to someone else. After all, habits are formed from early childhood, and in that period of life we are very dependent on the environment, such as parents, school, peers, but that period is long over and we can now form new ones. But why is it so difficult to change already established habits?
“A real change in habits is a change in personality. Motivation can lead to the formation of a certain habit, but the only reason you developed the habit is that it becomes a part of your personality. ”
“Results are what you get. Processes are what you do. Personality is what you believe in.”
To change your habits, you need to constantly improve and change in the direction that will lead you to the change you want. And this is not a short-term change, so the road to it will not be like a short-term, promising diet, it’s a long process.
Why did I eat this book up?
Frankly, I don’t really like life recipes because I think everyone can create their own, that are 100% right for ourselves. But every rule, as you know, has exceptions, so even if we can create the best recipes for life ourselves – we can also take advantage of the discoveries of others. You just need to choose what works and what doesn’t.
Atomic Habits is a system based on James Clear’s experiences, that has helped him recreate himself and find himself where he is today. It describes the most important points on how to turn hard-to-reach things into your reality.
First is the power of small changes, which means you don’t have to implement grandiose plans right away. It’s enough to take small steps forward, anyone can do it.
Small changes – big results.
The second tells you how to create a system to make the habit a part of you. It very clearly sets out the system that he has discovered, what needs to be done to not only achieve what you desire, but also to feel pleasure in the journey towards your goals.
How to make a habit clear and appealing.
Third is the connection between pleasure and the establishment of a new habit. We can force ourselves to do unpleasant work, to accomplish the most tedious tasks, but if we want to establish a new habit in the long run, it is easiest to do it if we have the pleasure of doing so.
How satisfaction is linked to an easily practiced habit.
You can just read a book and it’s already something, but you need practice to get real benefits. This is also the case here. This is a practical guide. If you have a desire to act, but you just don’t know where to start – you’ll find a lot of explanations for how to make wishes a reality.
