Atomic Habits To Help You Crush Your Goals

“Is forming and keeping new habits while getting rid of bad ones that difficult? Well, it can be if you’re doing it the wrong way.”.

By Michelle Thompson

Everyone wants to become a better person. We all want to be the best versions of ourselves, that’s why a lot of us like to kick start the year with New Year’s resolutions. It’s a way to leave our bad habits behind and start fresh. A way to spark positive change. But have you noticed that a lot of us fail to keep our resolutions? Why is that? Is forming and keeping new habits while getting rid of bad ones that difficult? Well, it can be if you’re doing it the wrong way.

Since we’re all stuck at home doing who-knows-what during this Covid-19 pandemic, we should be using this time to improve ourselves so we can come out of this better than we were before. For me, James Clear’s Atomic Habits is a book everyone should read if they want to get over the hurdle and achieve their goals.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear explains that the way to build a habit is to start small and make it attainable. Don’t underestimate the importance of making tiny changes on a daily basis. You don’t have to change everything all at once. You’re only setting yourself up for failure if you do that. Instead, you have to start small. Take baby steps. That’s the key to forming new habits that can improve your life in general.

Throughout the book, Clear reminds us that we need to have a system in place to keep us going, and to focus on this system instead of our goals. It’s good advice because let’s face it, we tend to spend too much time thinking about our ultimate goal when we should be using that time designing the process that will lead us to that goal.

Habit stacking is a concept the book talked about that I find extremely useful. It’s an easy way to form a new habit by pairing it with an existing one. I’m sure a lot of people are watching Netflix a lot these days to pass the time, so why don’t you try pairing that routine with a new habit you’re trying to build. Try exercising while you watch.

There is just so much you can learn by reading Atomic Habits.

Four Laws of Behavior Change

Let me share something from the book that can help anyone who wants to build better habits. It’s what Clear calls the Four Laws of Behavior Change. If you want to keep a habit, you have to make it:

• Obvious

• Attractive

• Easy

• Satisfying

It’s a simple strategy to follow, and that’s exactly why it’s so effective.

To make it obvious, don’t say something vague like, “I want to get in better shape this year.” Instead, place your workout clothes in the middle of the sofa where you can see them before you turn on the TV. That way you can remind yourself that you’re supposed to exercise while watching Netflix. And by pairing Netflix with exercise, you’re combining something you want to do with a habit you want to build, and it makes the routine more attractive than it would be otherwise. This is why I loved the idea of habit stacking.

Of course, you need to start slowly if you want to integrate new habits into your daily life. That’s why you’d want to make your habits as easy as possible at the start, so you’d want to do them. You can’t do 100 push-ups right away, start slowly.

Most importantly, you have to make the habit satisfying because you are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying. Clear suggests keeping a habit tracker so you can measure your progress and make the habit satisfying. Or maybe you can reward yourself for completing the habit.

The book also contains tips on how to get rid of bad habits. All you have to do is to invert the laws. That means you have to find a way to make the habit invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying. It’s not as easy as it sounds but Clear has provided a lot of tips on how to do this.

Highly Recommended

Atomic Habits is well worth the read. What I have said here has barely scratched the surface of this fascinating book. It’s a treasure trove of information. That’s why I highly recommend Atomic Habits for people who want to make a lasting change in their lives.

Automation and Outsourcing saved my sanity. After a life-altering stroke, at the age of 36, I had to start all over again. From a successful MBA in Finance to a second grade IQ level... overnight. Since my stroke, I’ve had to learn how to automate and outsource as much as humanly possible. It touches everything I do. Now, I am on a mission to help free you up from all the unnecessary tasks you do, and I’ll stop at nothing to help you get your freedom back.