Table Of Chapter
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Chapter-1
The Surprising Power Of Atomic Habits
In this chapter, the author focuses on how just a few minutes of activity on daily basis can make a big difference in our lives. If you can get 1 per cent better each day for one year, you will end up with thirty-seven times better by the end of the year.
For example, going to a gym for 3 days would not make you healthy, writing for one day would not make you write a book.
It seems to make a little impact but the impact of what they deliver over the months and years is enormous.
Focus on the system, not on goal:
Everyone wants to be successful, but it is only when you implement a system of continuous small improvement that will give different outcomes.
We think we need to change our results but the results are not a problem, what we need to change is the system that causes the result.
Winners and losers have the same goals.
Chapter-2
How Your Habits Shape Your Identity
The author tells us about how we identify ourselves with identity. Often we try to change our habits but it will be easy if we change our identity instead.
For example: rather than saying “I will read 100 books this year” say “I am a reader”
This simple step will make your journey very easy and enjoyable. True behaviour change is identity change. You might start a habit because of motivation but the only reason you will stick to it with one is that it becomes part of your identity.
But understand the goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader. The goal is not to go to a gym once, but the goal is to be a fit person.
The focus should be always on becoming that type of person, not getting particular outcomes.
Chapter-3
Build A Habit In 4 Simple Steps
In this chapter, the author is talking about a psychologist named Edward Thorndike who studied the behaviour of animals to understand habits. From there it comes out to be that the process of building a habit can be divided into four steps:
Cue: Craving : Response: Reward
Law for making good habits is to make cues obvious, craving attractive, response easy and reward satisfying.
Also, the Law of breaking bad habits is to make cue invisible, craving unattractive, response difficult and reward unsatisfying.
1. How can I make it obvious?
2. How can I make it attractive?
3. How can I make it easy?
4. How can I make it satisfying?
Chapter-4
Make It Obvious
Make the habit irreplaceable:
On making a habit obvious, the author says many people think they lack motivation when what they lack is clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action.
So, assign a particular time to start the habit like: I will go to a gym at [Date ] and [Time].
Motivation is overrated, the environment often matter:-
It is said that we are more likely to work in a work environment, you can't work where all others are partying around. Our environment is the cue for the next action we are going to take. Hence, it is the first step to making a habit work.
Our environment must be filled with productive cues and devoid of unproductivity.
For example, Want to think more creatively? Move to a bigger room, take a break from the space where you do your daily work, which is also linked to your current thought pattern.
The secret to self-control:
People who seem to have tremendous self-control, it turns out those individuals are not all that different from those who are struggling. Instead, they created a more disciplined environment. The secret of self-control is to make your cues of good habits obvious and cues of bad habits invisible in your environment.
Chapter-5
Make It Attractive
How to make habit irresistible :
Habit can be irresistible in a single step formula:-
After [Habit I Need ], I will do [Habit I Want].
For example, after finishing this book, I will watch TV.
After coming from a gym, I will check my social media.
The role of family and friends in shaping your habit
We all have some sort of invisible peer pressure that pulls us in their direction from friends and family.
One of the most effective things you can do is to surround yourself with people who have habits you want to have in yourself or join a culture where your desired behaviour is the normal behaviour of others.
How to find and fix the causes of your bad habits:
There are many ways to address the underlying motive. One person might learn to reduce stress by smoking cigarettes. Another person eases their anxiety by going to run.
Your current habit is necessarily the best way to solve the problem you face, they are just a method you learn to solve
You can change the learning by reframing your habits to highlight their benefits to make the habit more attractive.
Chapter-6
Make It Easy
Walk slowly, but never backward:
In this chapter, the author wants to tell us that we don't want the best approach for taking action. As Voltaire once said “The best is the enemy of good”
I refer to this as the difference between being in motion and taking action. The two ideas sound similar but they are not the same. When you are in motion, you are planning and strategizing, and learning. This is a good thing but doesn't produce a result.
Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done. But really, you’re just preparing to get something done. When preparation becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something. You don’t want to merely be planning. You want to be practising.
The law of least effort:
The law of friction states that the greater the friction, the less likely habit will occur. Forex. If your goal is to do 100 pushups each day, so start with 1 push up each day only then you will be more likely to reach the habit effortlessly.
Stop procrastinating by using two min rule:
Two minutes rules state that when you start a new habit it should take less than two minutes to do. For example, Reading before bed should be read one page. Study for class should be opening your notes.
We rarely think about changing this way because everyone is consumed by the end goal. But one push-up is better than not exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.
How to make good habits Inevitable and bad habits impossible:
The best way to break a bad habit is to make it impractical to do. Increase the friction until you don’t even have the option to act. For example, if you want to make a reading habit, simply place a bunch of books next to your bed.
Chapter-7
Make It Satisfying
The Cardinal Rule of behaviour change:
This rule states that what is rewarded is repeated and what is punished is avoided. It is said that, at some point, success in the near field requires you to ignore an immediate reward in favour of a delayed reward. An immediate reward system can be useful in your habit making process. For example, If you want to drop a habit or stop eating out too much. You can make a saving account for going on vacation and each time you skip the idea of going out you will transfer $50 into the saving account.
Stick with your good habit:
Habit tracking is the most useful and effective way to stick with your habit. Do it continuously after recording each measurement immediately after the Habit occurs.
By chance you miss one day, So, try to get back into it as quickly as possible. Try not to miss two in a row. This is a distinguishing feature between winners and losers. Anyone can have a bad performance, a bad workout, or a bad day at work. But when successful people fail, they rebound quickly. The breaking of a habit doesn’t matter if the reclaiming of it is fast.
How an accountable partner can change everything:
Knowing that someone is watching can be a powerful motivator. You are less likely to procrastinate or give up because there is an immediate cost.
Chapter-8
How To Go From Merely Good To Being Truly Great
When genes matter and when they don't:
We all know we have different natures and personality types. So, we should also choose habits that are easier to perform and more satisfying to stick with, when they align with our natural inclination and ability. You don't have to build the habits that everyone tells you to build. Choose the habits that best suit you, not the most popular ones.
Explore the different options by asking yourself these types of questions:-
What feels like fun to me, but work for others?
Where do I get greater returns than the average person?
What makes me lose track of time?
What comes naturally to me?
Goldilock Rule (How to stay motivated in life and work):
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.
The downside of creating good habits:
You assume you’re getting better because you’re gaining experience. In reality, you are merely reinforcing your current habits—not improving them. Some research has shown that once a skill has been mastered there is usually a slight decline in performance over time
Usually, this minor dip in performance is no cause for worry. You don’t need a system to continuously improve how well you brush your teeth or tie your shoes or make your morning cup of tea. With habits like these, good enough is usually good enough. The less energy you spend on trivial choices, the more you can spend it on what truly matters.
Habits deliver numerous benefits, but the downside is that they can lock us into our previous patterns of thinking and acting—even when the world is shifting around us. Everything is impermanent. Life is constantly changing, so you need to periodically check in to see if your old habits and beliefs are still serving you.
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