The power of habit is something that is very overlooked in society, however it has the power to significantly change lives. “Atomic Habits”, by James Clear is a #1 New York Times bestseller, with over 15 million copies sold. The book talks about how the addition of a single habit to one’s life holds tremendous power.
In the book, Clear splits the concept of habits and behavior change into four separate laws. make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. He also shares some advanced tactics to truly strengthen newly formed habits. At the beginning of each chapter, he shares a story that explains what the chapter will be going over. One of them was about professional cycling in Great Britain. The British had not been successful for a long time, so Dave Brailsfored was hired as a new performance director. Brailsfored made many tiny improvements in the program, such as making the bike seats more comfortable and rubbing alcohol on the tires for better grip. Although they seemed small, these changes inevitably led to Britain achieving great success in the Olympic Games, showing the true power of a habit. The first law of behavior change Clear mentioned was “make it obvious”. In this law, Clear talks about how our brain will pick up on cues that predict outcomes, without even thinking about it. Once we are used to completing habits that we implement, we stop paying attention to what we are doing. Cues are very important, and the two most common ones are time and location. Clear also mentions a very important practice, known as habit stacking, where you can pair a new habit with a current habit. He mentions that habits are like bamboo. They take a lot of their time underground building roots and stability, and all of a sudden they shoot out of the ground. Same with a habit, you won't see clear results right away, but after time they will be clear. Your environment is also very important for creating new habits, you don’t want to be fighting against old cues in an old environment. The second law he mentioned was “make it attractive”. In this law, Clear explains how if an opportunity is more attractive, it is more likely to become habit-forming. When our dopamine rises, so does our motivation to complete a habit. He also emphasizes the importance of making bad habits unattractive, as every behavior has a deeper underlying motive. The third law was “make it easy”. Clear highlights how the most effective form of learning is practice, not planning. It is a natural human tendency to gravitate towards the easiest option for something, so it is very important to create an environment where completing a habit or doing the right thing is as easy as possible. The fourth and final law was “make it satisfying”. This law talks about how humans are more likely to repeat a behavior or habit if it was a satisfying experience to them in the past. Our brain prioritizes immediate awards over long term rewards. This law also emphasizes that one of the most satisfying feelings is making progress, which can be done through habits.
I believe that this book is very powerful, and it has the ability to change lives. I feel like most humans don’t realize the true power of making a simple habit, as it can lead to significant changes in themselves and their lives. I think this book was very well organized, and this organization made it very easy to get the complex message across. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, especially if they are looking to make a change in their day-to-day lives. This book is truly transformative, and as James Clear said, “All big things come from small beginnings”.
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