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

by James Clear

It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.

Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.

Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.

Your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity. What you do is an indication of the type of person you believe that you are—either consciously or nonconsciously.*

Progress requires unlearning. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.

It doesn’t matter if you cast a few votes for a bad behavior or an unproductive habit. Your goal is simply to win the majority of the time.

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

Instead of summoning a new dose of willpower whenever you want to do the right thing, your energy would be better spent optimizing your environment. This is the secret to self-control.

a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details.

Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.

The problem is not slipping up; the problem is thinking that if you can’t do something perfectly, then you shouldn’t do it at all.

Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine.