To Build a Habit
XPress Access | May 2022
Atomic Habits
There is a life-changing book—of which I’m on my second read-through—called “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
I say it’s life-changing because, in the book, James Clear takes such a simple concept that we all know and breaks down how tiny changes in our daily routine can be powerful over time; how a 1% improvement per day has magnificent compounding effects throughout a person’s life.
I’ll briefly summarize what I’ve gleaned from his opening chapters, and then fill you in on what I’m doing today in order to implement the lessons I’m learning from this amazing book.
What is a habit?
Before I get too in the weeds, we should establish the definition of a habit. Here’s what I found with a quick internet search:
A settled tendency or usual manner of behavior. Example: Her habit of taking a morning walk.
An acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary. Example: Got up early from force of habit.
A behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance. Example: The daily bowel habit.
As you can see, I highlighted a common term that links these definitions together. I’m not trying to be clever, I just want to capture the essence of the topic.
Here are the top definitions of behavior, which are also important to note:
Anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulation.
The response of an individual, group, or species to its environment. Example: They are studying the behavior of elephants in the wild.
Okay, now that’s out of the way, what am I getting at really? Trust me, this’ll be good.