Atomic Habits

Teh Kian Ee (S2 Adelaide) 2019098

        “When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy.” This was undoubtedly the quote that got me hooked on Atomic Habits. This is one of those books where you highlight, underline and take notes as you read through. It has been such a helpful book in my pursuit of self-improvement that I could not recommend it more. 

        To kick things off, what is the premise of this book? Well, the ‘one big thing’ that the author, James Clear, tries to convey is that we should always start small and prioritize consistency. He goes on to mention the power of improving by 1% every day, and how seemingly insignificant changes to our daily routine can produce remarkable results in the long term. The key to unlocking this change is building good habits because “habits are the compound interest of self-improvement”. 

        With that in mind, how do you go about building habits that stick? By analysing the key components that make up a habit, Jame Clear has deduced it into the Four Laws of Behavioural Change, namely “Make it Obvious”, “Make it Attractive”, “Make it Easy” and “Make it Satisfying”. Each “law” is then elaborated on and explained with scientific experiments and real-life examples to engage the reader and further demonstrate its impacts and effects. Lastly, the author summarizes everything into a few techniques or plans to incorporate into our daily routine. 

        Honestly, that’s what I like most about this book, how no-nonsense, applicable and hands-on the ideas are. We frequently see self-help books fall into the trap of rhetorical fluff and “theoretically” to such an extent that they fail to provide any substantives and become increasingly vague or unrealistic. Atomic Habits is no such book, in fact, it might just be the polar opposite, with a plethora of different tactics and tricks that we can easily implement into our daily lives. 

        While some people may find Atomic Habits more motivational than inspirational, I think that’s something I very much appreciate about this book as well. No matter who you are or where you’re from, there will definitely be something in these 306 pages that you can take away, be it a certain value, an idea, a quote, a plan or just plain motivation to get your life together. For anyone even remotely interested in self-improvement, this book deserves a spot on your bookshelf. ■