“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them”.
Atomic Habits provides practical and proven tips for how you can adopt the habits you want and drop the habits you don’t.
This book is easy to read and relate to, with the perfect blend of research, anecdotes, real-life stories, tools, references, and humour.
While much of what is contained feels like common sense, the author has done an excellent job of codifying why habits work the way they do and how we can use this to our advantage. There are lots of supporting resources available to download (links in the book) which help you apply the theory in real life.
Key Takeaways
Habits exist in a loop of Cue, Craving, Response & Reward
Once we understand this we can develop a system that encourages us to build good habits by making them:
- Obvious
- Attractive
- Easy
- Satisfying
Or break bad habits by making them:
- Invisible
- Unattractive
- Difficult
- Unsatisfying
Final Thoughts
Atomic Habits is one of my favourite books! I have read and re-read it and keep it as a reference close to my desk. It is packed with useful strategies you can use to change your own habits starting with small manageable steps.
A quick visit to Amazon will show you thousands of 5-star reviews with many people claiming this book changed their lives. I’m not sure it was that transformational for me but I can see how it might be for others.
Before starting this book, write down some good habits you’d like to build and some bad habits you’d like to break. You can then apply the practical steps as you read and start to see the impact of these changes immediately.
