Book Review: James Clear's "Atomic Habits"

Improving upon an already well-established life, healthy relationships, and productive tendencies can be difficult when there are no easily-identifiable problems rising to the surface. The difference between goodness and greatness derives from the incremental changes, adaptations, and reassessments that help us refine our skills, proclivities, and habits. In James Clear’s best-selling self-help book “Atomic Habits”, the author offers a reliable, systematic approach to achieve reliable results, improve one’s daily life, and improve even just 1% every day, while emphasizing that small improvements avalanche into life-changing differences when practiced consistently.

This book resonated with me because it offered solutions to problems I didn’t even realize I was facing until Clear presented them so eloquently. Instead of frustratedly questioning why sometimes productivity seemed to come naturally while at other times it was so difficult to feel a spark, Clear presents the solution that our habits are a product of the environments we create for ourselves and the routines we choose to engage in or intentionally avoid. By making “good habits” and lifestyle changes attractive and easy, we inherently deny or ignore the vices that keep us from being our best selves. At the same time, making “bad habits” difficult, strenuous, or unattractive, we subconsciously train our minds to detach from self-destructive choices and instead gravitate toward our ideals.

The journey toward self-improvement, self-care, and self-actualization can be a daunting one. This is especially true under the misunderstanding that greatness can only be achieved through great acts. “Atomic Habits” teaches its readers that the opposite is true; instead, by identifying as the type of person we want to be and then taking acts in that direction, no matter how small, we will achieve our goals through consistency and goof faith attempts to do things the right way. Since reading “Atomic Habits”, I feel that the mental barriers that I had created to start productive activities or engage with healthy habits are easier to overcome by staying in the “steadily-improving” mindset. By focusing on process over results, we can all achieve great things and leave a positive impact on those around us. I highly recommend “Atomic Habits” to anyone looking to find the evasive spark that helps give their life meaning and purpose.