With our upcoming book review of Atomic Habits by James Clear, I thought it would be fitting to share why I really like the book. The basic idea Clear shares is that we all have habits that we do each day, without paying much attention to them. Brushing your teeth is a good example. Chances are you do it the same way every day and don’t spend much mental power doing it. This is one of many things our brains have put on autopilot. These habits we engage in, or our behaviors, lead to the results that we get. And that means that the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.
James Clear goes on to explain that when we want to do something new, it is tempting to focus on the results or the goal, but the real power is in working on the system that leads to the desired result, or our habits. This idea isn’t all that new, but where I really started to pay attention was when the author suggests that we shouldn’t be looking for one large change or habit that will fix everything. What he suggests is that real, lasting change and improvement will come from aggregating lots of micro-improvements – or what he calls atomic habits and sustaining those over time.
We want to look for several small things that we can do to make incremental improvements that will add up to an overall gain. It is an entire system of becoming someone rather than doing something. Our mindset is also important. For instance, we don’t want to just read a book; we want to become a reader. I like how Clear helps readers identify the results, figure out the habits that will lead to those results, and then suggests ways to make it into a system we can follow.
I found a lot of practical and helpful ideas throughout the book and I’ve worked to put some of these into place over the past year. I feel like those habits have helped me create some positive change and improved my personal wellness. I hope you will join us Thursday for the book review to hear more about the ideas in Atomic Habits.