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

The book ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear is a global best seller that motivates change and improvement in one’s way of life especially habits. The clear writing style and practical tips that focus on the art of developing and sustaining new habits have earned Atomic habits a warm reception from readers. At the heart of the book is the conflict on the extreme extremes that it takes to effect any change. It is however proposed by Clear that change occurs in small or rather “atomic” alterations of everyday practice. Central to this idea is Clear’s encouragement to become ‘1% better every single day’. This encourages the notion that little things now compound and make a big lasting change in the future.

Success, according to Clear, does not come from accomplishing targets but from the processes and practices we engage in on a regular basis. He clarifies that if this way of applying ourselves to the practical element of building these systems is adopted, then improvement would be inevitable. This is a welcome notion to those who are unable to sustain motivation since it eliminates the need for any radical transformation. Instead, Cleat book recommends such behavioral changes that are more practical and believes that in time they will cause significant impact.

The entire work is organized around the so called ‘Four Laws of Behaviour Change’ on which all creation of new habits and breaking of old ones is based: make it visible, make it appealing, make it effortless and make it rewarding. With these four steps, the author gives a succinct plan to the reader on how to purposefully create and modify his habits. Clear further argues that habit change takes place in four phases which are the cue, craving, response, and reward. He further explains how each phase works and how it can manipulated to help people build good habits and eradicate bad ones.

There are also many examples from an athlete, to an artist and a normal person that help put the concepts into perspective and are easy to remember. Such stories help the reader understand the science of habits because practical examples of every idea are provided.