1-page summary: atomic habits by James clear.

Favorite quote:

“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy.”

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

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Decide the type of person you want to be.

(if you want to read a detailed summary of atomic habits then click here where I have covered all chapter lessons and top quotes and a lot more.)

Prove it to yourself with small wins.

The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.

Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.

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

The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.

Pointing-and-Calling raises your level of awareness from a nonconscious habit to a more conscious level by verbalizing your actions.

The Habits Scorecard is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior.

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

The two most common cues are time and location.

Habit stacking is a strategy you can use to pair a new habit with a current habit.

The habit stacking formula is: After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].

Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment.

It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting against old cues.

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

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

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

Highlight the benefits of avoiding a bad habit to make it seem unattractive.

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.

Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.

One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and (2) you already have something in common with the group.

The normal behavior of the tribe often overpowers the desired behavior of the individual. Most days, we’d rather be wrong with the crowd than be right by ourselves.

If a behavior can get us approval, respect, and praise, we find it attractive.

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.

The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning.

Focus on taking action, not being in motion.

The amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as important as the number of times you have performed it.

Create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible.

Reduce the friction associated with good behaviors. When friction is low, habits are easy.

Increase the friction associated with bad behaviors. When friction is high, habits are difficult.

Prime your environment to make future actions easier.’

The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”

 The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things.

Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist.

The ultimate way to lock in future behavior is to automate your habits.

Onetime choices—like buying a better mattress or enrolling in an automatic savings plan—are single actions that automate your future habits and deliver increasing returns over time.

Using technology to automate your habits is the most reliable and effective way to guarantee the right behavior.

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

Don’t break the chain. Try to keep your habit streak alive.

Never miss twice. If you miss one day, try to get back on track as quickly as possible.

A habit contract can be used to add a social cost to any behavior. It makes the costs of violating your promises public and painful.

Knowing that someone else is watching you can be a powerful motivator.

The secret to maximizing your odds of success is to choose the right field of competition.

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference.

Reflection and review is a process that allows you to remain conscious of your performance over time.

The tighter we cling to an identity, the harder it becomes to grow beyond it.

Thank you for your time.