No matter what your goals or habits, James Clear offers great insight and practical ideas for you in Atomic Habits. Clear allows you to recognize that YOU are not the problem, if you are having trouble changing some of your habits — rather the problem is your system. We repeat bad habits over and over again. Not because we don’t want to change but because we are using the wrong system to make that change.
James Clear explains that “you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Atomic Habits is an easy-to-understand guide to making your good habits unavoidable and the bad habits impossible.
“All big things come from small beginnings.”
In his book, James Clear takes big ideas and seemingly insurmountable goals and breaks them down into simple and achievable actions allowing you to have great success — one small step at a time. He makes it easy to re-shape the way you think about your goals and your processes by offering many practical examples and easy-to-replicate ideas to form good habits, break the bad ones, and recognize the small behaviors that lead to amazing results.
At RT+ we took some time to reflect on our daily habits to realize that we have some really great ones: drinking water each day, setting aside time for a workout every day, going to bed early, and waking up early. However we also have some bad habits too: wasting time scrolling on the phone, procrastinating doing the undesirable tasks on the to-do list, drinking while watching sporting events, watching TV to fall asleep at night, and eating something sweet after each meal.
“Never miss twice. If you miss one day, try to get back on track as quickly as possible.”
No one is perfect, and the good news is that James Clear explains how building good habits does not rely on perfection, but rather repetition. You can still be successful, if you have some bad habits. The key is to be sure you have more good habits than bad ones.
“A lack of self-awareness is poison. Reflection and review is the antidote.”
After reading Atomic Habits, we embraced the opportunity to reflect on our habits and processes and review how we can do better. We know that the most practical way to eliminate bad habits is to reduce the exposure to any cue that causes the undesirable habit. If scrolling on your phone is the bad habit, put your phone in a drawer or power it down during the times you are likely to get caught up in the scrolling— even if it’s just a break for five minutes. Start small (or short) and work toward longer sessions without the distraction of the phone. Then reward yourself with something really desirable when you put the phone in a drawer or power down. Only you can determine the desirable reward for yourself, but try not to create another bad habit (such as rewarding yourself with a hot fudge sundae). But rather something positive or even productive (such as the opportunity to get some things done and cross them off your list OR relaxing time for yourself with a warm cup of tea). Choose something that speaks to you and ultimately leaves you looking forward to the time when you get rid of the phone.
“Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.”
Sounds simple? It really is! To learn more about your habits and how you can start taking small steps each day to make big changes, grab your copy of Atomic Habits.