“Imagine changing just one word: You don’t ‘have’ to. You ‘get’ to.”

James Clear, page 131

I just finished reading “Atomic Habits” and even though I consider myself a highly disciplined and motivated person, this book still gave me some great ideas. I appreciated all the examples and resources available on Clear’s website. I will be the first person to admit that most business books can (and should be) encapsulated in a two-page article but Clear’s book is the exception. I loved Clear’s quote, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”

I certainly believe this is true for myself. For example, I work out every day. Come rain or shine, I am committed to MOVE every day. I walk, hike, play tennis and lift weights every week. I have been doing this since I was a teenager. I also was a big runner but my knee is troublesome now. Having knee pain and being unable to run (which I loved to hate) could have led me to be sedentary, but instead I was committed to keep moving in new and different ways. This commitment to the habit of moving has served me and my body well in middle-age. So Clear’s premise that habits can compound for or against you is definitely true in my case.

I also like Clear’s belief that habits are not about goals but instead about systems. Creating systems that support your habits makes complete sense. For example, when I traveled a lot for work, it would be easy to leave the airport and go home right away but I noticed that meant I was working out less. So I came up with a plan to have my workout clothes in the trunk of my car, this way I could easily drive directly to the gym from the airport instead of depending on myself being disciplined enough to go home to change and then drive to the gym.

Another recent example is taking my vitamins. I need to take some daily vitamins and yet I could never remember to do it. I also hate clutter on my kitchen counters but I knew in order to take my vitamins, they needed to be in easier reach (and sight). So the vitamins sit on my kitchen counter and are impossible to miss each morning. I am happy to say, I now take my vitamins daily because I designed my environment for success!

I am a big believer of taking ACTION. Clear shares a great story about taking action. In summary, a photography class broke the students into two groups: quantity and quality. In the quantity group, the students were graded by number of photos taken. It did not matter if they were good photos. The goal was to take a lot of photos. The quality group was required to turn in one photo for the entire semester. Their grade would depend on excellence. At the end of the term, all the best photos were taken by the quantity group. This group experimented, tried new methods and ideas and most importantly, learned from their mistakes. While taking hundreds of pictures, they improved their skills. Ultimately is it easy to get focused on perfection or ideas whereas taking action actually delivers an outcome. Talking or thinking about something does not produce results only ACTION produces results.

I loved the concepts of this book. If you read it or have read it already, share what you learned in the comments section!