Making changes in our lives can be difficult. I think almost everyone has struggled with habits that have become problematic and have wanted to stop them only to find them creeping back into their lives. So annoying. The reverse tends to be true as well. With good intentions, we make New Year’s resolutions, or we make “deals” with ourselves to “start on Monday” with new and healthier habits only to find these new habits forgotten in a week or two. We might ask ourselves, “how do people do it”? How do some people make changes that stick and improve their lives when so many of us fail to either rid bad habits or adopt new and better habits?

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a book about such a situation. His book begins with the story of his own journey after a fluke accident that left him with significant cognitive/physical difficulties. Through his own journey, he was able to achieve such a level of high efficiency and productivity, but also a successfully fulfilling life. He attributes much of his growth to small “atomic-size” changes developed over time with consistency which produce incredible changes. He believes that anyone can use these strategies and techniques to transform their lives into the fulfilling life they want.  Some of the tips in the book are as follows:

• 1% better – He believes that working to make your life only 1% better everyday and continuing those improvements over time can lead to the transformations you desire.
• Act “as if”. – Instead of yearning to be a particular person (more active, read more, more patient, etc), he believes you want to do those things a person who IS already more active, a more active reader, a more patient person would do. This is similar to “fake it till you make it” but with a more invested attitude and healthier approach.
• Make the easy thing hard and the hard thing easy – If you find it “easy” to pick up your phone and buy something impulsively on Amazon, make it harder by removing the app from your phone. If you find it hard to get out of bed when the morning alarm goes off, put the alarm on the other side of the room. This will make it impossible to turn it off without getting out of bed.  
• Don’t break the chain – Find a way to “compete” with yourself. When you start a new habit, keep track of how many days you can keep the “win” going. Mark the successes on a calendar or find a way to reward it.

The book is filled with many “easy” and quick atomic habits that will help almost anyone to reduce unwanted habits and improve those beneficial habits that can add value our lives.