Book Summary: Atomic Habits by James Clear | Sam Thomas Davies

“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”

“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”

“Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.”

“Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.”   

“Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.”                

“With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become.”                

Whenever you want to change your behavior, ask yourself:

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?

“A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.”

“If you’re having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, ask yourself: ‘Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?’”                

“With enough practice, your brain will pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it.”

“Once our habits become automatic, we stop paying attention to what we are doing.”

“The 1st Law of Behavior Change is make it obvious.”

“Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity.”

“One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.”

“The inversion of the 1st Law of Behavior Change is make it invisible.”

“Once a habit is formed, it is unlikely to be forgotten.”

“People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it.”

“One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it.”

“The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.”

“Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop. When dopamine rises, so does our motivation to act.”

“It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take action. The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike.”

“Every behavior has a surface level craving and a deeper underlying motive.”

“Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires.”

“The cause of your habits is actually the prediction that precedes them. The prediction leads to a feeling.”

“Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings and unattractive when we associate them with negative feelings. Create a motivation ritual by doing something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.”                

“Named after the economist Charles Goodhart, Goodhart’s Law states, ‘When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.’”

“One of the most satisfying feelings is the feeling of making progress.”

“A habit tracker is a simple way to measure whether you did a habit—like marking an X on a calendar.”

“Habit trackers and other visual forms of measurement can make your habits satisfying by providing clear evidence of your progress.”