Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

by James Clear

To get a habit to stick you need to feel immediately successful—even if it’s in a small way.

The first three laws of behavior change—make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—increase the odds that a behavior will be performed this time. The fourth law of behavior change—make it satisfying—increases the odds that a behavior will be repeated next time.

After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [TRACK MY HABIT].

After I hang up the phone from a sales call, I will move one paper clip over. After I finish each set at the gym, I will record it in my workout journal. After I put my plate in the dishwasher, I will write down what I ate.

Just as governments use laws to hold citizens accountable, you can create a habit contract to hold yourself accountable. A habit contract is a verbal or written agreement in which you state your commitment to a particular habit and the punishment that will occur if you don’t follow through. Then you find one or two people to act as your accountability partners and sign off on the contract with you.

The obvious question is, “How do I figure out where the odds are in my favor? How do I identify the opportunities and habits that are right for me?” The first place we will look for an answer is by understanding your personality.

Openness to experience: from curious and inventive on one end to cautious and consistent on the other.

Extroversion: outgoing and energetic to solitary and reserved (you likely know them as extroverts vs. introverts).

You don’t have to build the habits everyone tells you to build. Choose the habit that best suits you, not the one that is most popular.

explore/exploit trade-off.

The work that hurts you less than it hurts others is the work you were made to do.

Pick the right habit and progress is easy. Pick the wrong habit and life is a struggle.

Genes do not eliminate the need for hard work. They clarify it. They tell us what to work hard on.

The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

A flow state is the experience of being “in the zone” and fully immersed in an activity.

We all have goals that we would like to achieve and dreams that we would like to fulfill, but it doesn’t matter what you are trying to become better at, if you only do the work when it’s convenient or exciting, then you’ll never be consistent enough to achieve remarkable results.

The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference.

In this way, habits are the backbone of any pursuit of excellence.

Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery

What are the core values that drive my life and work? How am I living and working with integrity right now? How can I set a higher standard in the future?

When working against you, your identity creates a kind of “pride” that encourages you to deny your weak spots and prevents you from truly growing. This is one of the greatest downsides of building habits.

The tighter we cling to an identity, the harder it becomes to grow beyond it.

“I’m a great soldier” transforms into “I’m the type of person who is disciplined, reliable, and great on a team.”

The upside of habits is that we can do things without thinking. The downside is that we stop paying attention to little errors.

As this book draws to a close, I hope the opposite is true. With the Four Laws of Behavior Change, you have a set of tools and strategies that you can use to build better systems and shape better habits. Sometimes a habit will be hard to remember and you’ll need to make it obvious. Other times you won’t feel like starting and you’ll need to make it attractive. In many cases, you may find that a habit will be too difficult and you’ll need to make it easy. And sometimes, you won’t feel like sticking with it and you’ll need to make it satisfying.

Small habits don’t add up. They compound.

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

Being curious is better than being smart.

Emotions drive behavior.

We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional.

Your response tends to follow your emotions.

Your expectation changes your satisfaction.

The pain of failure correlates to the height of expectation.