Book review: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits will leave you feeling more empowered and capable to build healthy habits that last. James Clear, the author, provides a comprehensive guide on how to redesign your environment to make success easier. His philosophy is all about how tiny changes deliver rewarding results which are demonstrated throughout the book.

Tahlea highly recommends this bestseller, find out why.

1. What attracted you to this book?

I’ve always drawn up goals for each year and even put (mini) vision boards together but could never follow through. I would get to the end of the year feeling demotivated or upset with myself for not achieving my goals. Towards the end of 2021, I asked people around me about books that might inspire me and many of those close to me recommended Atomic Habits so I decided to buy the book and start 2022 off strong.

2. What is the basic storyline?

James Clear illustrates how small habits every day can have a great impact on your life. He unpacks how habits are formed, how to establish healthy ones and the benefits of habit tracking.

To give you a teaser, here are his four principles for developing a healthy habit:

1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy
4. Make it satisfying

If this confuses you, don’t fret because James does such a great job of illustrating how practical and easy it is to form healthy habits.

He also shares some great nuggets of advice such as the power of your language. This is a daily practice of mine.

Get the book, you won’t regret it!

3. What were some highlights?

I have two highlights, the first being that most of Clear’s insights and research were grounded in Psychology. This is important for me because while self-help books are largely opinion-based and share a subjective perspective, Atomic Habits is supported by science and for some reason, I feel comforted by that.

My second highlight is the way in which James illustrates how practical habit-forming can be, whether it’s developing a healthy or unhealthy habit. I was pleasantly surprised that changing my habits doesn’t require an army or a trip to the store but it starts with me and my environment.

4. What insights have you gained?

A great insight that I learnt from James was that if you find yourself struggling to change habits, remember that you aren’t the problem, your system is. The systems I’ve chosen over the years weren’t aiding me or moving me forward at all. It’s when you choose to change your system and create an environment where you can succeed that's when you’ll start to see real change.

5. Who do you think should read this book?

I believe this book is for anyone who truly wants to build healthy habits and break the cycle of bad ones. There are so many practical tools on how to transform your life and reach the goals you’ve set for yourself. I promise this isn’t just any self-help book, it's gold!