Review on “Atomic Habits”
Habits: A tiny, sometimes nonconscious, behaviour that has been repeated enough times as to become automatic.
Have you ever reflected on your habits? The conscious and nonconscious ones? Do you think we can change them? Furthermore, have you ever considered how they impact your chances of achieving success, stability or happiness? These, and many more, questions are explored in James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits’’. Using very practical, straightforward and approachable language, Clear is able to convey the giant impact that small habits have in our overall wellbeing. “Atomic” refers, specifically, to the minuscule size of these actions with a huge amount of energy that, with a proper trigger, can transform the state and outcome of anything.
Human evolution has depended on our brain’s amazing ability to take in tons of information every day, encode it and associate it with a pleasant or unpleasant outcome. This is why survival has been strongly attached to the establishment of habits. With the passing of time, the enormous amount of immediate input, competing priorities, nonconscious factors and practical challenges of life in the XXIst century, our brain has recurred to the automatization of as many actions as possible in order to free up space and let us focus on the tasks that require most attention. Nonetheless, as efficient (and amazing) as this may be, automatization can play against us if it hinders our awareness and ability to objectively assess our performance. In the end, what Clear wants to share with us is that the best way to be in control is to actually take control of our lives. The more conscious we make our actions, the better our decision-making, action plans and ground for “good” habits to flourish and prevail.
One of the most brilliant ideas exposed by the author refers to the difficulty of achieving a change if we only focus on the results/promises it represents. For example, if we want to lose weight, quit smoking, read a book or start a company, not achieving it in a couple of months will drain our motivation and take us back to square one, making us believe that we are “not good enough” or “we’re not made for that”. In reality, he says, it is the system we are using or, even more, the conflict between it and our identity which are impeding us to reach that goal. Therefore, he outlines a series of steps to analyse our methods and the approach we are taking regarding our dreams and ambitions.
Amongst the various elements he describes for helping the creation of a good habit, he speaks about changing our self-talk for one that would enhance the motivation in the long-term. For example, instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, maybe we could say “I want to be a healthy person”. This will translate into a positive behaviour which is not based on the number of the scale, but the feeling of wellbeing it brings for your present and future self. Finally, he suggests joining a culture where your desired behaviour is seen as normal. This means that if you would like to read more books, probably, it’s a good idea to join a book club, where people will motivate you to stick to your goal, support you and make you feel welcome since the purpose of its existence is your dream per se.
This is highly recommended reading for anyone who is curious about exploring their innermost behaviours, to take action and unleash the power of their own atomic habits.
