Read this book before you write your new year's resolutions

Book Summary ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear

I first heard about this book back in 2020 during the covid pandemic. I listened to the audiobook, and I thought the book was very nice but only after reading the hard copy do I see how impactful the book truly is. It has made me think differently about my habits and behavior.

It made me understand that in our day-to-day lives only very few things happen randomly or coincidentally. No matter how spontaneous we think an action might be, we go through 4 stages before we engage in it;

The four stages are CUE, CRAVING, RESPONSE & REWARD.

A CUE triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. It is a bit of information that predicts a reward. Your mind is continuously analyzing your internal and external environment for hints of where rewards can be found. Something that would make us feel better. The cue allows us to notice the reward a particular habit or behavior can give, and this naturally leads to a craving. A CRAVING is the motivational force behind every habit. With a craving, there is a desire for the reward of a particular habit/behavior. We must understand that we are not just craving the habit, but the feeling it rewards us with. These cravings lead to a response. A RESPONSE is how we 'respond or react' to the desire for a feeling or reward. The response delivers A REWARD, which is the end goal for every habit.

The CUE is about noticing the reward. The CRAVING is about wanting the reward. The RESPONSE is about obtaining the reward.

For both good and bad habits, these four stages still hold true. Using myself as an example, every morning before I shower, I do push-up exercises. In the early days of forming this habit, the cue I got is the notification by 7 am from the workout app on my phone. It will usually have some cliche "gym bro" statement like; rise and grind, no pain no gain, those chests will not pump themselves. This notification was my cue because it makes me notice the reward of wanting a wider frame.

I notice the reward [CUE] - I want the reward [CRAVING] - I open the workout app and do the exercise [RESPONSE] - I stand in front of the mirror feel the chest pump and I am satisfied [REWARD].

We are more likely to form a habit when the cue for the habit is OBVIOUS, the craving for the habit is ATTRACTIVE, the response to the habit is EASY and the reward for the habit is SATISFYING.

Inversely

We can stop a bad habit when the cue for the habit is INVISIBLE, the craving for the habit is UNATTRACTIVE, the response to the habit is DIFFICULT, and the reward for the habit is UNSATISFYING or PAINFUL.

The book goes into detail on how to apply these strategies to our lives.

If there is one thing I have learned this year, is that being able to form good habits and systems directed toward your goals is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Consistently engaging in any behavior makes you better at it regardless of how difficult it might seem at first. The human brain can adapt, learn, and unlearn.

We have under 50 days left to 2023. Many of us will soon begin to draft our New Year's resolutions. Break it down into small activities you can do every day. Spend less time thinking about your goals and more time designing the systems to achieve them. Every goal can be broken down into an atomic habit. Find it, start there, and let it grow and compound.