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Atomic Habits by James Clear:

Summary and Lessons
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to
become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes
build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

Rating: 9/10

Related: The Power of Habit, The 7 Habits of Highly E!ective

People, Switch, Smarter Faster Better, The Willpower Instinct

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Table of Contents 
Atomic Habits Short Summary
Executive Summary
The Fundamentals: Why Tiny Changes Make a Big Di!erence
Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits
Chapter 2: How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa)
Chapter 3: How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps
The 1st Law: Make It Obvious
Chapter 4: The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
Chapter 5: The Best Way to Start a New Habit
Chapter 6: Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More
Inversion of the 1st Law: Make It Invisible
Chapter 7: The Secret to Self-Control
The 2nd Law: Make It Attractive
Chapter 8: How to Make a Habit Irresistible
Chapter 9: The Role of Family and Friends in Shaping Your Habits
Inversion of the 2nd Law: Make It Unattractive
Chapter 10: How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your Bad Habits
The 3rd Law: Make It Easy
Chapter 11: Walk Slowly, but Never Backward
Chapter 12: The Law of Least E!ort
Chapter 13: How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the Two-Minute Rule
Inversion of the 3rd Law: Make It Di"cult
Chapter 14: How to Make Good Habits Inevitable and Bad Habits Impossible
The 4th Law: Make It Satisfying
Chapter 15: The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change
Chapter 16: How to Stick with Good Habits Every Day
Inversion of the 4th Law: Make It Unsatisfying
Chapter 17: How an Accountability Partner Can Change Everything
Advanced Tactics: How to Go from Being Merely Good to Being Truly Great
Chapter 18: The Truth About Talent (When Genes Matter and When They Don’t)
Chapter 19 The Goldilocks Rule: How to Stay Motivated in Life and Work

Atomic Habits Short Summary

Atomic Habits by James Clear is the definitive guide on habit change. Learn how to create good
habits and break bad ones with a simple step-by-step framework based on the best techniques from
behavioral science. Highly practical, a must-read if you’re looking to upgrade your behavior and make
the best version of yourself.

How to Build Good Habits: Atomic Habits by James Clear

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Executive Summary
The holy grail of habit change is not a single 1% improvement, but a thousand of them. It’s a bunch of
atomic habits stacking up, each one a fundamental unit of the overall system.

Awareness comes before desire.

A craving is created when you assign meaning to a cue. It can only occur after you have noticed an
opportunity.

It is the idea of pleasure that we chase. Desire is pursued. Pleasure ensues from action.

With a big enough why you can overcome any how. If your motivation and desire are great
enough, you’ll take action even when it is quite di"cult. Great craving can power great action – even
when friction is high.

Being motivated and curious counts for more than being smart because it leads to action. To do
anything, you must first cultivate a desire for it.

Appealing to emotion is typically more powerful than appealing to reason. Our thoughts and actions
are rooted in what we find attractive and not necessarily in what is logical.

Su!ering drives progress. The source of all su!ering is the desire for a change in state. This is also the
source of all progress. The desire to change your state is what powers you to take action.

Your actions reveal your true motivations.

Our expectations determine our satisfaction. If the gap between expectations and outcomes is
positive (surprise and delight), then we are more likely to repeat a behavior in the future. If the
mismatch is negative (disappointment and frustration), then we are less likely to do so.

Feelings come both before and after the behavior. The craving (a feeling) motivates you to act. The
reward teaches you to repeat the action in the future:

Cue > Craving (Feeling) > Response > Reward (Feeling)

How we feel influences how we act, and how we act influences how we feel. Desire initiates.
Pleasure sustains. Wanting and liking are the two drivers of behavior. If it’s not desirable, you have no
reason to do it. Desire and craving are what initiate a behavior. But if it’s not enjoyable, you have no
reason to repeat it.

Pleasure and satisfaction are what sustain a behavior. Feeling motivated gets you to act. Feeling
successful gets you to repeat.

How to Create a Good Habit

The 1st Law: Make It Obvious

Fill out the Habits Scorecard. Write down your current habits to become aware of them
Use implementation intentions: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]”
Use habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]”
Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.
The 2nd Law: Make It Attractive

Use temptation bundling. Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do
Join a culture where your desired behavior is normal
Create a motivation ritual. Do something you enjoy immediately before a di"cult habit
The 3rd Law: Make It Easy

Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits
Prime the environment. Prepare your environment to make future actions easier
Master the decisive moment. Optimize the small choices that deliver outsized impact
Use the Two-Minute Rule. Downscale your habits until they can be done in two minutes or less
Automate your habits. Invest in technology and one-time purchases that lock in future behavior
The 4th Law: Make It Satisfying

Use reinforcement. Give yourself an immediate reward when you complete your habit
Make “doing nothing” enjoyable. When avoiding a bad habit, design a way to see the benefits
Use a habit tracker. Keep track of your habit streak and “don’t break the chain”
Never miss twice. When you forget to do a habit, make sure you get back on track immediately

How to Break a Bad Habit

Inversion of the 1st Law: Make It Invisible

Reduce exposure. Remove the cues of your bad habits from your environment
Inversion of the 2nd Law: Make It Unattractive

Reframe your mindset. Highlight the benefits of avoiding your bad habits
Inversion of the 3rd Law: Make It Di!cult

Increase friction. Increase the number of steps between you and your bad habits
Use a commitment device. Restrict your future choices to the ones that benefit you
Inversion of the 4th Law: Make It Unsatisfying

Get an accountability partner. Ask someone to watch your behavior.

Create a habit contract. Make the costs of your bad habits public and painful

The Fundamentals: Why Tiny Changes Make a

Big Difference
Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits
A habit is a behavior performed regularly and, in many cases, automatically.

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.

Success is the product of daily habits. Getting 1% better every day counts for a lot in the long-run.

The important thing is whether your habits are putting you on the right path. Be concerned with
your current trajectory and not with your current results.

“Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure
of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your
knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure
of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.”

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

Goals vs Systems

Goals are the results you want to achieve. Systems are the processes that lead to those results
Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress
Achieving a goal is a momentary change. Systems solve a problem for good
Goals restrict happiness, e.g. “Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy.” Systems make you fall in
love with the process rather than the product so you don’t have to wait to permit yourself to be
happy
Goals are at odds with long-term progress. Goals are about winning the game. Systems are
about continuing to play the game
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Chapter 2: How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and

Vice Versa)

The Three Layers of Behavior Change:

1. Outcomes: changing your results, e.g. losing weight. Most of the goals you set are at this level
2. Process: changing your habits and systems, e.g. developing a meditation practice. Most of the
habits you build live at this level
3. Identity: changing your beliefs, e.g. your worldview or self-image. Most of the beliefs,
assumptions, and biases you hold are associated with this level
The most e!ective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on
who you wish to become.

The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. True
behavior change is identity change.

“The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader. The goal is not to run a
marathon, the goal is to become a runner. The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal
is to become a musician.”

Your identity emerges out of your habits. Repeating a behavior reinforces the identity associated
with it.

Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.

“Each time you write a page, you are a writer. Each time you practice the violin, you are a
musician. Each time you start a workout, you are an athlete.”

New identities require new evidence. If you keep casting the same votes you’ve always cast,
you’re going to get the same results you’ve always had.

How to change your identity:

1. Decide the type of person you want to be: What are your principles and values? Who do you
wish to become? Now ask yourself: “Who is the type of person that could get the outcome I
want?” For example, the type of person who could write a book is probably consistent and
reliable. Now your focus shifts from writing a book (outcome-based) to being the type of
person who is consistent and reliable (identity-based)
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins: once you have a handle on the type of person you want
to be, you can begin taking small steps to reinforce your desired identity

“I have a friend who lost over 100 pounds by asking herself, “What would a healthy person
do?” All day long, she would use this question as a guide. She figured if she acted like a
healthy person long enough, eventually she would become that person. She was right.”

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

The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better results (although they can do
that), but because they can change your beliefs about yourself.

Quite literally, you become your habits.

Chapter 3: How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps

A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. Their ultimate
purpose is solving problems as little energy and e!ort as possible.

Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop of four steps:

1. Cue: what triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. The bit of information that predicts a
reward
2. Craving: the motivational force behind every habit. You don’t crave the habit itself, but the
change in state it delivers (e.g. you do not crave smoking a cigarette, you crave the feeling of
relief it provides)
3. Response: the actual habit you perform, as a thought or action. Whether a response occurs
depends on how motivated you are and the amount of friction associated with the behavior
4. Reward: the end goal of every habit. We chase rewards because they satisfy our cravings and
teach us which actions are worth remembering in the future
If a behavior is insu"cient in any of the four stages, it will not become a habit. Without the first
three steps, a behavior will not occur. Without all four, a behavior will not be repeated.

The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits:

1. Cue: make it obvious

2. Craving: make it attractive
3. Response: make it easy
4. Reward: make it satisfying
We can invert these laws to learn how to break a bad habit:

1. Cue: make it invisible

2. Craving: make it unattractive
3. Response: make it di"cult
4. Reward: make it unsatisfying

The 1st Law: Make It Obvious

Chapter 4: The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
You don’t need to be aware of the cue for a habit to begin. With enough practice, your brain will
pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it. Once our
habits become automatic, we stop paying attention to what we are doing.

That’s why the process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of
your habits before you can change them.

We need a “point-and-call” system for our personal lives. That’s the origin of the Habits Scorecard,
which is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior.

How to create your Habit Scorecard:

1. Make a list of your daily habits

2. For each habit, ask yourself: “Is this a good, habit, or neutral habit?”
3. If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. For bad habits, write “–”. For neutral, write “=”
If you’re having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, ask yourself: “Does this behavior
help me become the type of person I wish to be?”

Habits that reinforce your desired identity are usually good. Habits that conflict with your desired
identity are usually bad.

Chapter 5: The Best Way to Start a New Habit

The two most common cues that can trigger a habit are time and location.

Implementation Intention: pairing a new habit with a specific time and location – “I will
[BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”

For example: “I will exercise for one hour at 5 p.m. at my local gym.”

Habit Stacking: pairing a new habit with a current habit – “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW
HABIT].”

For example: “After I pour my cup of co!ee each morning, I will meditate for one minute.”

The key is to tie your desired behavior into something you already do each day.

You can develop general habit stacks for specific situations:

“If I see stairs, I will take them instead of the elevator.”

“When I serve myself, I will always put veggies on my plate first.”
The secret to creating a successful habit stack is selecting the right cue. Brainstorm a list of your
current habits:

1. In the first column, write the habits you do each day without fail
2. In the second column, write everything that happens to you each day without fail
3. Now find the best place to layer your new habit into your lifestyle
Make your cue highly specific and immediately actionable: “After I close the door”; “After I brush
my teeth”. The more tightly bound your new habit is to a specific cue, the better the odds are that
you will notice when the time comes to act.

Chapter 6: Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often

Matters More
Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. Habits are context-dependent.
Small changes in context can lead to large changes in behavior over time.

Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment:

Practice guitar more frequently? Place it in the middle of the living room
Drink more water? Fill up a few water bottles each morning and place them around the house
The most persistent behaviors usually have multiple cues. Habits become associated not with a
single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior. The context becomes the cue.

It is easier to build new habits in a new environment as you won’t fight old cues. Create new
routines in new places, like a di!erent co!ee shop or a bench in the park.

If you can’t, rearrange your current one. Create a separate space for work, study, exercise,
and entertainment.

If your space is limited, divide your room into activity zones: a chair for reading, a desk for writing, a
table for eating. You can do the same with your digital spaces.

“I know a writer who uses his computer only for writing, his tablet only for reading, and his
phone only for social media and texting. Every habit should have a home.”

A stable environment where everything has a place and a purpose is an environment where habits
can easily form.

Inversion of the 1st Law: Make It Invisible

Chapter 7: The Secret to Self-Control
Once a habit has been formed, the urge to act follows whenever the environmental cues
reappear.

Bad habits are autocatalytic: the process feeds itself. They foster the feelings they try to numb. You
feel bad, so you eat junk food.

Researchers refer to this phenomenon as “cue-induced wanting”: an external trigger causes a

compulsive craving to repeat a bad habit. Once you notice something, you begin to want it.

You can break a habit, but you’re unlikely to forget it.

In the short-run, you can try to overpower temptation. In the long-run, you become a product of the
environment that you live in.

“I have never seen someone consistently stick to positive habits in a negative

environment.”

The best strategy to eliminate bad habits is to cut o! at the source. Reduce exposure to the cue
that causes it.

For example:

Can’t get any work done? Leave your phone in another room for a few hours
Watch too much television? Move the TV out of the bedroom
Rather than make it obvious, make it invisible. Remove a single cue and the entire habit often fades
away. Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.

People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid
temptation than to resist it.

The 2nd Law: Make It Attractive

Chapter 8: How to Make a Habit Irresistible
The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.

Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop. Every behavior that is highly habit-forming – taking
drugs, eating junk food, browsing social media – is associated with higher levels of dopamine.
Dopamine is released when you experience pleasure but also when you anticipate it.

It is the anticipation of a reward – not the fulfillment of it – that gets us to take action.

“Desire is the engine that drives behavior. Every action is taken because of the anticipation
that precedes it. It is the craving that leads to the response.”

The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike.

Temptation Bundling: pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do

For example:

Only listen to podcasts you love while exercising

Only watch your favorite show while ironing
How to build your temptation bundling strategy:

1. In the first column, write the pleasures you enjoy and the temptations that you want to do
2. In the second column, write the tasks you should be doing but often procrastinate on
3. Browse your list and link one of your instantly gratifying “want” behaviors with something you
“should” be doing
You can combine temptation bundling with habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT
I NEED]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].”

For example:

You want to read the news but need to express more gratitude: “After I get my morning co!ee,
I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened yesterday (need). After I say one thing I’m
grateful for, I will read the news (want).”
You want to check Facebook but need to exercise more: “After I pull out my phone, I will do ten
burpees (need). After I do ten burpees, I will check Facebook (want).”

Chapter 9: The Role of Family and Friends in Shaping

Your Habits
The culture we live in determines which behaviors are attractive to us. We tend to adopt habits that
are praised and approved of by our culture because we have a strong desire to fit in and belong to
the tribe.

We tend to imitate the habits of three social groups. Each group o!ers an opportunity to leverage
the 2nd Law of Behavior Change and make our habits more attractive:

1. Imitating the Close: we pick up habits from the people around us. To build better habits, join a
culture where your desired behavior is normal behavior. If you are surrounded by fit people,
you’re more likely to consider working out to be a common habit
2. Imitating the Many: whenever we are unsure how to act, we look to the group to guide our
behavior. Most days, we’d rather be wrong with the crowd than be right by ourselves
3. Imitation the Powerful: we are drawn to behaviors that earn us respect, approval, admiration,
and status. If a behavior can get us approval, respect, and praise, we find it attractive. We are
also motivated to avoid behaviors that would lower our status

Inversion of the 2nd Law: Make It Unattractive

Chapter 10: How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your Bad
Habits
Every behavior has a surface level craving and a deeper underlying motive.

We do not desire to smoke cigarettes or check Instagram. At a deep level, we simply want to reduce
uncertainty and relieve anxiety, win social acceptance and approval, or achieve status.

Our habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires. Some reduce stress by smoking a
cigarette while others go for a run.

Once you associate a solution with the problem you need to solve, you keep coming back to it.

For example:

Cue: You notice that the stove is hot. Prediction: “If I touch it I’ll get burned, so I should avoid
touching it.”
Cue: You see that the tra"c light turned green. Prediction: “If I step on the gas, I’ll make it safely
through the intersection, so I should step on the gas.”
Life feels reactive, but it is actually predictive.

The cause of your habits is actually the prediction that precedes them. The prediction leads to a
feeling, which is how we normally describe a craving – a feeling, a desire, an urge.

Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings and unattractive when we
associate them with negative feelings.
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