Atomic Habits - My interpretation.

The first blog is about the famous and well known book by James Clear named as “Atomic Habits”. It is a book which can be re-read multiple times and each time it will act as a reminder or will motivate in a way to work upon ourselves in a very simplistic and kind way.

Hence , the importance of the word ‘Atomic’ in the title. No matter how small the effort is or is being perceived as by oneself , it can have ripple effects far beyond expectations.

Author gives practical steps to achieve any goal which is sustainable and not a temporary trend. More so, a wider picture is provided in the book to not just set goals but create a system which is long lasting.

“If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead”.

So, for eg : if the goal is to lose 5kgs in 2 months - the goal is set and one can achieve that via different means - may be any trendy diet can help achieving the goals far quickly.

The question though is around sustainability - is the goal just restricted to few kgs or is the goal to remain fit for life ; temporary vs sustainable ! That is where the ‘system’ comes into picture which when defined and followed wouldn’t require us to fall back in the loop every few months tar-getting ourselves to lose weight.

The sustainable version of the above example is “the goal is to become fit” ; which requires persistent and consistent efforts along with discipline. These efforts then be carved out as a system to be followed.

Power of small efforts as quoted in the book and the graph below - which doesn't show up instantly but works wonders with time!

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock , perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow , it will split into two and I know it was not that the “last” blow that did it - but all that had gone before”

The simple way to build a behaviour that ultimately becomes a habit :

• Make it obvious
• Make it attractive
• Make it easy 
• Make it satisfying

…and repeat to get 1 percent better each time. Just ‘1’ percent!

My way of interpreting it goes as follows , by now you must be presuming that I would again consider an example around weight loss and guess what - you are right :-)

So, first step make it obvious to myself and/or probably whom I trust that I want to work towards getting fit ( so then probably they understand and support me when I am not choosing to order ‘desserts’ for myself ) .
Now for a foodie like me , if the healthy food choices are bland ,it would be difficult for me to follow so it would mean to include healthy stuff but with taste ,flavour and presentation - which is easily achievable these days.

The ‘toughest’ part is to make it easy!

The book highlights about the ‘habit cycle ‘ which are formed by “cue, cravings , response and reward”. To elaborate, ‘the cue is about noticing the reward , the craving is about wanting the reward , the response is about obtaining the reward ; reward being the end goal which serve two purposes 1) They satisfy us and 2) they teach us.

Above as quoted in the book , to use them as principles for forming and repeating a behaviour. It also highlights , how each are interlinked with each other - if there is no cue , there is no craving and so forth. Even when the behaviour is formed , it needs to be repeated to form a habit. The more you repeat a behaviour , the more your re-inforce the identity associated with that behaviour.

“Your identity is literally your ‘repeated beingness”.

It also highlights the practicality that we as humans are capable of missing our formed routine ; but the point is to acknowledge and moving back to the routine as quickly as possible.

If you have the routine of reading 5 pages a day and you miss reading it , then don’t despair or crib , rather get back to reading the 5 pages the very next day - not even punishing yourself to cover up by reading 10 pages. However, if you skip it next day thinking that you have anyway lost the streak of that week , then chances are that streak of skipping will continue. The blog tries to articulate the points that I was able to grasp it quickly and am sure these will help for someone who wants to get a quick blurb of this book.

Would conclude it with the quote that the author himself keeps emphasising “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.