8 Big Ideas from Atomic Habits
I am a strong “believer” that we should always strive to improve ourselves. But like you, it has been difficult for me to change my habits. I have tried to change my habits multiple times in the past. Most of the time it would just end up same as before . Until I found “Atomic Habits”. It has helped me analyse my bad behaviour patterns and helped me navigate through traps, which I unknowingly put myself in.
I have listed down a few of the “Big Ideas” shared in the book. I hope you would enjoy reading and navigate through your own traps.
Idea 1: 1 % Better Everyday
It happened to me multiple times. After some 2 am motivation, I started making a plan to change my routine from the very next day: I’ll wake up early, I’ll eat healthy, I’ll exercise regularly, I’ll read everyday and on and on. Almost every time I failed to continue my so called “2 am resolutions” after a week or so.
In hindsight when I looked closely the reason behind my failure was clear: I was trying to do too much. I was taking on so much but couldn’t possibly deliver.
In the planning phase it is very tempting to make a lot of changes at once, but committing to them is quite difficult. On the other hand it is very easy to make small changes in routine and stick to them. Small changes when compounded over time can lead to massive change.
Here’s a simple graph for you that best visualises how 1% better or worse everyday can affect your habits.
Idea 2: All Good things take time
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” — Steve Jobs
Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which builds up a potential to unleash a major change. This is also one of the main reasons why it is so hard to build habits that last.
We make a few changes in our routine, fail to see any tangible result after a few days and just stop. But in order to make a meaningful difference, habits need to persist long enough to breakthrough this plateau and see some results.
We need to be a bit patient, as someone rightly said All good things take time.
Idea 3: Fuck Goals; Build Systems
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your system — James Clear
Prevailing wisdom suggests that the best way to achieve whatever you want in life is by setting actionable goals. The implicit assumption behind any goal,“Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy”. And the problem starts with this “Goal-first-Mentality”. We start putting our present happiness aside for our future self to enjoy. And once we hit that goal, we start chasing another goal. This vicious cycle of ‘we will be happy once we achieve goal’ will go on and on.
Suppose you want to start reading.Instead of making a goal of x numbers of books on Goodreads, you can start by scheduling a time in your day specifically for reading, explore genres which interest you and abandoning books which you don’t like. Seems fun.. right? Here you don’t have to give yourself the permission to be happy, you can be satisfied while your system is in process. This approach is known as system approach.
Idea 4: Your Habits define you
There are three layers of behaviour change:
- Change in Outcomes: Concerns with change in end results.
- Change in Process: Concerns with change in habits and implementing new systems (trying different approaches).
- Change in Identity: (the deepest one) Concerns with changing our beliefs: our worldview, our self-image and judgement others.
Many of us begin the process of changing our habits by focusing on what we want to achieve or depending on our end goals. This approach leads to outcome based habits and is likely to be un-sustainable in the long run.
The alternative approach could be-to build identity-based habits. True behaviour change is identity change. So, we can focus on who we wish to become and change our habits accordingly rather than changing ourselves as per our goals. This is the kind of change that can persist over time.
For instance, if your goal is to lose some weight. If you are a foodie, then it might be very difficult for you to eat healthy and exercise consistently. But if you start to think of yourself as healthy person, then it would be much easier for you to consistently eat healthy food and exercise regularly.
Idea 5: Just Do it
When we think of adopting or altering any of our habits, we start finding the best ways to adopt it as soon as possible. We start spending our time in planning, strategising and learning all good things. But none of them provide results as we never get around to taking action. We always plan and plan and keep delaying the actions we need to take.
The best way to build new habits is to Just fucking do it.
Automaticity is the ability to perform a behaviour without thinking about each step. It occurs when the non-conscious mind takes over the conscious one. When we start building our habit, the only thing that matters is how frequently we are repeating our actions to adopt that habit. So, just do it!
Idea 6: The Secret to self control is to not to have to use it
When scientists analysed people who appear to have tremendous self control, it turns out those individuals aren’t all that different from those who are struggling to control. It turns out that disciplined people are only better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self control. They just remove situations from their life where they may have to use will-power to chose good from the bad.
If you are trying to cut down on beers, it is a lot easier to not drink if there is none at home. Similarly if someone has a tendency to snack they can just keep the healthier options in their pantry, and when they have to snack they will always have to choose the healthier option.
Self-control is a short-term strategy.
We may be able to resist temptation once or twice, but it’s unlikely we can muster the willpower to override your desires every time. Instead of summoning a new dose of willpower whenever we want to do the right thing, our energy would be better spent optimising our environment.
Idea 7: Society Impacts Our Behaviour
Humans are herd animals. We want to fit in, to bond with others, and to earn the respect and approval of our peers. For most of our evolutionary history our ancestors lived in tribes. Being separated from the tribe — or worse, being cast out was a death sentence. The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.
Most of the time, going along with the group does not feel like a burden. Everyone wants to belong. Behaviours are attractive when they help us fit in. We do this by
- Imitating the close: Proximity has a powerful impact on our behaviour. We pick up habits from people around us i.e. our spouse, parents, friends, coworkers. The closer we are to someone the more likely we are to imitate their habits. This can be one of the most effective ways to change your habits. So, by just joining a culture where your desired behaviour is the normal behaviour will keep you motivated towards working on your goals.
- Imitating the Many: Whenever we are unsure how to act in a particular situation, we look to our group to guide our behaviour. We constantly scan our environment and wonder “What everyone else is doing”. We check reviews on Amazon, Zomato etc to explore new buying, eating trends. The normal behaviour of the group will certainly overpower the desired behaviour of the individual.
- Imitating the Powerful: Humans everywhere pursue power, prestige and status. We want to be acknowledged, recognised and praised. This pursuit of happiness may seem vain, but overall, its the desired one! Historically a person with greater power and status has access to more resources, worries less about survival, and proves to be a more attractive mate. Thus, the whole point is we are drawn to behaviour/ habits that bring us respect, approval, admiration, and status. And this is the reason why we care so much about habits of highly successful people. Many of our daily habits turn out to be the imitations of people we admire.
Idea 8: Make Good habits extremely easy
Energy is precious and our brain is wired to conserve it. Every action requires a certain amount of energy. The more energy required the less likely it is to occur. If the goal is to do a hundred push-ups per day that’s lot of energy. In the beginning when we are motivated and excited, we can muster the strength required to get started. After a few days such a massive effort feels exhausting.
Most of our most time consuming habits scrolling social media, bingeing on Netflix are so convenient that they can be done without any effort. In the beginning, try making your actions towards achieving those habits extremely easy, that you can easily stick to them. And make them so simple that you can take out time from your busy schedule to complete those actions. On the tough days, it’s crucial to have as many things working in our favour as possible.
Building a habit of walking can be started by just walking 10 minutes daily in the beginning. Similarly a reading habit can be started by reading one page daily.Whatever habit we want to acquire, removing any kind friction in accomplishing makes them easy to stick to.
After this post, if you think that reading the complete ‘Atomic Habits’ can help you, then order now: https://amzn.to/3nJ1n5d
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