Atomic Habits by James Clear (Summary)

For the Happiness PhD Project's paid supporters...

Hi friends,

Here are the summary notes from my reread of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s one of the classics in my “happiness library” as ultimately happiness (in its many forms) is an output that comes from lifestyle ingredients. And your lifestyle is essentially a culmination of your habits.

Although — yes to the counterpoint — that sometimes awful sh*t happens to you too.

What’s one habit you can create or eliminate for your happiness?

yrs,

Jackson K.

• What if you got 1% happier every day? In about 75 days you’d be twice as happy…

• The secret to so much of life is compounding. Can one dollar make you rich? Can one night of not brushing your teeth make them fall out? The answer, somewhat paradoxically, is yes.

• Focus on your trajectory more than your results.

• Cancer spends 80% of its life dormant and Bamboo is invisible for five years. Momentum builds up then it hits a threshold of visibility, like ice melting at 32°.

• Focus on systems (inputs) more than goals (outputs).

• Change will flow from identity (beliefs, world, views, self image, judgments, etc.) to behaviors (systems) to results. Right now, decide who you want to be and prove it with your habits.

• Cue leads to craving leads to response leads to rewards then repeat — that’s a habit.