ATOMIC HABITS

TINY CHANGES, REMARKABLE

RESULTS – A BOOK REVIEW
An insight of the small habits and behavior to make revolutionary goals- either
they’re effective in a real world or just an illusion of a goal-oriented mindset-

An Easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones-

JAMES CLEAR
INTRODUCTION OF THE TITLE
The book under review, is titled, “Atomic Habits”, written by James Clear and
published by Penguin Random House UK, 2018. The copy in hand is printed and
bound in India by Thomson Press India limited. James Clear is an expert on habits
& decision making. He became famous, after writing one of the fastest growing
email letters, which grew from zero to 100,000 subscribers, in less than two years
and has now, over 4 million subscribers. He frequently writes for New York,
Forbes and Business insider. James Clear has spent years in pursuing the art and
science of habits.
The title of the book “Atomic Habits” revolves around the concept of an atom,
being an extremely small part of a unit, which cannot be further sub-divided.
Whereas, habit, is a practice performed regularly, which maybe as small as,
saying, thank you to the people. The introduction to the book is the story of the
author, titled ‘My story’, wherein the author narrates a tragedy, which befell on
him, when he was studying in school, playing baseball, his favourite game. When
the bat slipped from the hands of other player, it accidentally hit him into the
nose, which resulted in broken nose, a couple of fractures and two shattered eye
sockets. He slipped into coma, right after this and was taken immediately to a
hospital by a helicopter due to unavailability of ambulance on ground. The next
morning, when he regained his consciousness, he discovered that he had lost the
ability to smell and his eye-ball bulging out of the socket. After multiple surgeries,
when he returned home, he felt like everything in his life was on hold. Baseball
had been a major part of his life, but now he realised that he has to go a long way
to be in the baseball field. However, he had a strong feeling that, he is the one
responsible for improving his life and making things happen, the way he desired.
The turning point soon came when he got admission in the college. It was then,
he discovered, “the surprising power of small habits for the first time”. It was
here in the college, when he focused on getting his life in order. While others
stayed up late, he went to bed early at night, building good sleep habits. Similarly,
he made it a point to keep his room neat and tidy. These improvements were
minor but they gave him a sense of control over his life. He started to feel
confident. This gave him confidence in classes also, as he improved his study
habits. Then he started concentrating on baseball and was voted as captain of
team. Very soon, his sleep habits, study habits and game-training habits began to
payoff. Six years after, the face injuries with the baseball bat, he was selected as
the top male-athlete at the university. It was because of consistent improvements
in his small habits, he was able to achieve highest academic honour, the
president’s medal. It was a long series of small wins and tiny breakthroughs. In
the words of author, “The only way I made progress- the only choice I had – was
to start small”. This was the strategy which he employed a few years later, when
he started his own business.
The author in 2012 began writing and publishing articles online. Within less than,
a period of one and half years, his subscribers had gone to more than 30,000
people and soon he became an expert on habits. He was invited by the top
companies in US and Europe, to speak on habit formation, behaviour change and
continuous improvement. In 2017, he launched “The Habit Academy” which
became premiere training platform for organizations and individuals.
 FUNDAMENTALS –THE 1ST LAW

The book has been divided into six chapters. The first chapter has a heading “The
fundamentals”, with sub-headings (Why tiny changes make a big difference) and
sub-divided into three parts, first is “surprising power of atomic habits.” The next
chapter is “The first Law”, with a sub-heading,” Make it obvious”. The third
chapter is “The second law (Make it attractive), followed by the Third law (Make
it easy), the fourth law (Make it satisfying) and the last chapter is Advanced
Tactics (How to go from being nearly good to being truly great). The last chapter
has a conclusion with the heading (The secret to results that last). At the end,
there are the appendices which include importance and applicability of this book,
besides acknowledgements, notes and an index.

Habits are collective interests of self-improvement. This happen same as money

increases with the effect of compound interest. Habits are like tiny bricks, brick by
brick it makes a successful person out of man. They seem to multiply as many
times as we repeat them. They seem to make little differences for the time being,
yet they give astonishing results. Massive actions make up for great success. But,
still it is an assembly of 1% small improvements, which will eventually make you
better than before. Success is the product of daily habits, not once a lifetime
transformation. The impact created by little changes in our habits is similar to the
effect of shifting of the route of an aircraft by just shift of bearing on its radar. Our
habits can compound for us or against us. Habits often appear to make no
difference, until you cross a critical stage and unleash a new performance level.
In the early and middle stages of any progress, there often comes a valley of
disappointment –feeling of not going anywhere.

In order to make a significant difference, habits need to persist long enough to

break through the “Plateau of Latent potential”. If we find ourselves trying a
good habit or break a bad one, it’s not because we have lost the ability to
improve, it’s because we have not yet crossed plateau of latent potential. It’s the
human equivalent of geological movement, where two tectonic plates grind
against one another for millions of years, tension building up slowly and one fine
day, out erupts the earth quake. Change can take years before it happens at once.
In the chapter the fundamentals, the author explains why small changes in the
habits, makes a big difference in the personality. He explains that improving by
1% in any of our habits, may not be noticeable, but, it will be far more meaningful
in the long –run. He further explains this idea that one percent improvement each
day will end up 37 times better in a year. On the other hand, if we repeat 1%
errors every day, by repeating poor decisions, mistakes and rationalizing, all these
compound into toxic results. It is the accumulation of many missteps that
eventually leads to a bigger problem. It does not matter, how successful or
unsuccessful we’re today, what matters are whether your habits are putting on
right path towards success? If someone wants to predict, where he will end up in
life, all he has to do is follow the curve of tiny gains or losses. Usually, people
make a few small changes to their habits for a while, but failed to see the tangible
results and then they become disheartened and leave the efforts midway. The
author quotes, the very famous example of a stone cutter, who strikes the stone
hundred times, but the stone breaks on the hundredth –first strike. It’s not the
hundredth-first strike, which the stone has broken but, it’s the accumulated effect
of all those hundred strikes that have gone before.
The part two of this chapter is “How your habits shape your identity and (vice
versa)”. Under this heading, the author explains, that changing our habits is a
challenging task, reason being the wrong way of changing the habits. He suggests
three ways of changing the habits. The first is changing the outcome than
changing the process, followed by changing the identity. This three –step process
can be reversed, starting with identity, through the process achieving the
outcome. Habits matter a lot because; they help in becoming a person we wish to
be. Habits are the channels through which we develop our beliefs about
ourselves.
The third part of first chapter is “How to build better habits” in four simple steps.
James Clear narrates the mechanism of habit building in four steps i.e. cue,
craving, response and reward. The order of these processes does not change. Cue
is the first step which triggers our brain, to initiate behaviour. The mind
continuously analyses the internal and external environment, to find the cues. It is
the cue which results in craving, which is the motivational force behind every
habit. Craving differs from person to person. The next step is response; it’s the
actual habit we perform. The occurrence of response depends on how motivated
we’re. Finally, the response delivers the reward. They’re the end goals of every
habit.

THE 2ND LAW

The 2nd law is, “Make it attractive”. The more attractive an opportunity is, the
more likely it is to become habit forming. The best way is to pair an action we
want do with an action we need to do. The social environment greatly affects a
person’s habit. Most of the time, going along with a group, does not feel like a
burden everybody wants to belong. Habits are attractive, when they help us fit in.
We imitate the habits of three groups, (1) the close, (2) the many (3) the
powerful. We pick up habits from the people around us. As a general rule, the
closer we’re to someone, the more likely we’re to imitate some of their habits.
We try to copy the behaviour of successful people because we desire success
ourselves. Many of our daily habits are imitations we admire. The best way to
avoid a bad habit is to make it look unattractive.

THE 3RD LAW

The 3rd law of habit change is “Make it easy”. The most effective way of learning
is practice. The habit formation is the process by which behaviour becomes,
progressively more automatic, through repetition. The amount of time we’ve
been performing a habit is not as important as, the number of times we’ve been
performing it.
There is nothing magical about time passing with regards to habit formation. It
doesn’t matter if it’s been twenty-one days or thirty days or three-hundred days,
what matters is the rate which we perform behaviour. It’s ultimately, the
frequency that makes difference. New habits require the same level of threshold.
We need to string together enough successful attempts. The chapter also narrates
about walking slowly but never backward. This could be said as “Slow and steady
wins the race”. This quote is said by Abraham Lincoln, who had struggle his whole
life till he became 16th president of the United States. So what did he do? Did he
stop his hard work, or just waiting for someone to give him a helping hand? No!
He did what he needed to do for his life.
Well, in practice it doesn’t really matters how long it takes for a habit to build up,
what matters is that we take the actions necessary for achieving our objectives,
whatever the odds. The author explains about using law of least effects. We know
what people are thinking, good things happen to those who work hard and that
we do agree, but we would also agree that better things happen to those who
work hard and smart.
Historically, people have a tendency to prefer less activity and effort. The law of
least effort is that tendency, but instead of using it as excuse being lazy, we can
grasp it to be more efficient. The best idea is to understand what positive choices
we want to make, understanding the restricted factor is, while finding solutions to
limit the friction that’s is caused.
Energy is precious and the brain is wired to converse it whenever possible. It is
human nature to follow the law of less effort, which states that when deciding
between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option,
people will work. Habits are easier to build when they fit into the flow of your life.
In a sense, habits are just an obstacle to get what we really want.
The chapter “How to stop procrastinating by using 2-minute rule”, is where, the
author describes the applicability of the two-minute rule, to utilize it in our habits
and routine. Habits can be completed in a few seconds but continue to impact
your behaviour for minutes or hours afterwards. Habits are like entrance ramps
on a highway. They lead you down on a path, and before you know it, you’re
speeding towards the next behaviour. It seems easier to continue what we’re
already doing than to start something different.
The difference between a good day and a bad day is often a few productive and
healthy choices made at decisive moments. Decisive moments set the options
available for our future. Each one is like a fork at the end; these choices stack up
throughout the day and ultimately lead to a very different outcome.
We’re limited by where our habits lead us. This is way mastering the decisive
moments, throughout our day, is necessary. Each day is made up of many
moments, but it is really a few habitual choices that determine the path we take.
The little choices we make, each one set the trajectory, for how we spend the
next chunk of time. Habits are like cab that takes us to our destination. They’re
the entry point, not the end point.
The author narrates the “Two-minute rule to avoid procrastination “. But first,
we need to understand, what procrastination is and how it could be stopped.
Procrastination is the habit of delaying any important task, normally giving time
to less urgent, and more enjoyable and simple activities instead. This usually
happens when people are afraid or afraid of an important task that awaits them.
To get rid of this negative feeling, people procrastinate—they open a video game
or Pinterest instead. This makes them feel better temporarily, but unfortunately
reality comes back to bite them in the end.
Procrastination is itself a significant source of stress. If you keep having the
"feeling of success" that comes with the two-minute rule, as James Clear told it,
daunting tasks will soon become more attainable. Procrastination is the act of
unnecessarily postponing a decision or action. For example, if you need to write
an essay but end up wasting time on the internet even though we know we
should be working, it means you are procrastinating.
Procrastination often harms people's ability to successfully pursue their goals, as
evidenced by, for example, procrastination being associated with poorer grades in
school and lower pay at work. In addition, procrastination is also linked to a whole
host of other problems, such as increased stress, poor physical and mental health.
People often assume that procrastination is only a matter of willpower, but in
reality the situation is much more complex.
When faced with a decision or a task to complete, we usually rely on our self-
control to force ourselves to do something. Additionally, our motivation, which is
based on the expectation of receiving some kind of reward for our efforts, can
support our self-control and make us more likely to get things done on time.
For example, anxiety, fear of failure, and other negative emotions can cause us to
procrastinate unnecessarily, as can assigning a task that is unpleasant.
In addition, there are some obstacles that disrupt our self-control and motivation
in a way that also makes us more prone to procrastination. For example, the
exhaustion that occurs as a result of having to work hard all day can make it
difficult for us to control ourselves if it is already late at night.
People often procrastinate because they fear they will fail at the tasks they need
to complete. Sometimes people procrastinate because of their perfectionism.
Perfectionism can lead to procrastination in many ways, such as being so afraid of
making a mistake that we end up taking no action at all.
In order to overcome procrastination there are multiple ideas that one could
utilize for example, Prioritize tasks based on their importance. Break down large
and overwhelming tasks into small, actionable chunks. Remove distractions from
your work environment. Find out when you are most productive and when you
are least productive and schedule your tasks accordingly. Set milestones on the
way to your ultimate goals. Create a daily goal and mark a series of days when
you have successfully achieved it. Reward yourself when you successfully
implement your action plan. Focus on your goals instead of the tasks you have to
complete. Visualize your future self as you experience the results of your work.
Count to ten before giving in to the impulse to procrastinate. Avoid a perfectionist
mind set by accepting that your work will have some flaws. Develop faith in your
ability to successfully overcome your procrastination.
All of these steps are good enough for everybody out there, who procrastinates,
but there is a special rule suggested by the author, James Clear, which is a “two-
minute-rule”.
What is the two-minute rule?

"If an action is going to take less than two minutes, it should be done at the
moment it is defined." The first two minutes will snap you out of dodge. The two
minute rule is a tactic suggested by James clear. The premise is simple: if you have
a backlog and it takes two minutes or less to complete, do it now—even if it's not
marked as urgent or high priority.

Why the two-minute rule is effective

The two-minute rule doesn't require any special tools, spreadsheets, or workflows
—we don't even need to add a task to your to-do list. All we have to do is attack it
head on! The goal of the two-minute rule is to overcome procrastination and
idleness with quick action. It's about getting those small wins and believing that
when you achieve something productive, no matter how small, we'll feel more
motivated.
The two minute rule allows us to take advantage of small windows and make
good use of periods when we are low on energy. When we do these quick jobs,
we feel empowered to do more – it increases momentum and calms our mind.

When to use the two-minute rule

The two-minute rule is especially effective when applied to ad hoc tasks that pop
up throughout our work day. Today, our list of micro tasks has expanded to
include things like “check ad copy” and “answer freelance email”.
These are things that really shouldn't take me more than a minute or two. But
when we put them all down repeatedly, they inevitably start to pile up and weigh
on my mind ("We can't forget that!") while we’re supposed to be focusing on
other things. Instead of putting off all these quick tasks, we'd be better served by
tackling them as they come - and never even thinking about them.

At the very opposite end of the spectrum, the two-minute rule can be used to
jump-start larger tasks as well as more complex and substantial projects we've
been procrastinating on. The first step is to write down everything that comes to
mind and work backwards to identify the first quick and necessary step we need
to take to get started.
Let's say we need to create an e-book proposal - something we could do in just
two minutes might include deciding on a working title or getting data on how our
last e-book did.

How to apply the two-minute rule

The problem with answering emails is that we often get overwhelmed by other
people's concerns and priorities. We shouldn't get caught up in solving someone
else's problems - only respond to this email if it's something we personally can
check off our list.
If we doubt it will take longer, we shouldn't do it. If it's a repetitive task that we'll
need to do repeatedly, it might be worth using a timer so we know in the future if
we can do it in two minutes.
Small windows of time trapped between meetings or a few minutes spent waiting
for others to join the meeting are perfect for unimportant two-minute tasks. Save
the rest of our schedule for tasks that have value and meaning and will help us
achieve something. If it threatens the two-minute task in any way, put it on the
back burner.
The next chapter is” How to make good habits, inevitable and bad habits
impossible”. A good practice for creating good habits is to make bad habits
impossible to do and make good habits inevitable. Bad habits interrupt our life
and prevent us from achieving our goals. They threaten our health – mentally and
physically and they waste our time and energy.
Most of our bad habits are caused by two things, stress and boredom. Bad habits
are usually just a way to deal with stress and boredom. Everything from nail biting
to shopping sprees, drinking every weekend to wasting time on the internet can
be a simple response to stress and boredom. But it doesn't have to be that way.
We can learn new and healthy ways to deal with stress and boredom, which we
can then replace with our bad habits.
Of course, sometimes the stress or boredom that is on the surface is actually
caused by deeper issues. These issues can be hard to think about, but if we're
serious about making changes, we need to be honest with ourselves. Are there
certain beliefs or reasons behind bad habits? Is there something deeper—a fear,
event, or limiting belief—that is causing us to hold on to something that is bad for
us? Recognizing the causes of our bad habits is essential to overcoming them.
Here are some more ideas for breaking our bad habits and thinking about the
process in a new way.
We need to have a plan ahead of time for how we will respond when faced with
the stress or boredom that fuels your bad habit. What will we do when we get the
urge to smoke? (Example: breathing exercises instead.) What do we do when
Facebook prompts us to procrastinate? (Example: write one sentence for work.)
Whatever it is and whatever we're dealing with, we need to have a plan for what
we're going to do instead of our bad habit.
We often think that in order to get rid of bad habits, we have to become a
completely new person. The truth is that we already have to be someone inside
of us without our bad habits. In fact, it is very unlikely that we will have these bad
habits for life. We don't have to quit smoking, just go back to being a non-smoker.
We don't need to transform ourselves into a healthy person; we just need to
return to health. Even if it was years ago, we've already lived without this bad
habit, which means we can definitely do it again.
A commitment device is a choice we make in the present that locks in better
behaviour in future. The ultimate way to lock in future behaviour is to automate
your habit. Automation really excels when applied to small, repetitive tasks. Just
think of all the menial and time-consuming tasks in your workflow: tracking
budgets, tracking hours, scheduling meetings, creating timesheets, invoicing and
invoicing can all be easily automated with the right tools.
Use this simple process to find out what you can automate:

1. Tracking our work day

Tracking everything we do at work is the easiest way to find out how we actually
spend our productive time. It gives us the data we need to truly understand our
productivity. We can even automate it beautifully! (And if so, it creates a much
more accurate description of our times).

2. Reviewing our productivity performance

The effective performance includes the responsibilities assigned to us,

interruption taking place all through our attention, the use of digital media on
which we’re spending extra time, the boredom and the repetition in our each day
work.

3. Research distinctive problems

We should take time on working on our specific problems, by conducting a

research and be conscious about the automation in certain tasks. If you want to
automate a habit in yourself, you should show it. When it is obvious in front of
you, the percentage of not doing this work automatically decreases.
For example, consider a person who is fat right now but wants to be slim and fit
again.
He knows that if he wants to be slim, he has to reduce his daily calorie intake, but
because of bad eating habits, he fails time and time again.
Now that he's making it clear he's going to cut his calories by swapping his dinner
plates for small plates. He can lose weight. That's how to automate a habit, we
have to show it. This thing takes effort, but if we do it, our life will be easier.

THE 4TH LAW

We learn what to do in the future based on what we've been rewarded for doing
(or punished) in the past. Positive emotions cultivate habits. Negative emotions
destroy them. Habits should give us a sense of accomplishment when we
complete them. Pleasure teaches our brain that the behaviour is worth
remembering and repeating. Our brains have evolved to seek instant gratification.
You have to work with the grain of human nature, not against it. The best way to
do this is to add some instant gratification to the good habits we want to build.
Building habits is something we do from the moment we are born. Sometimes our
habits are created on purpose and sometimes they aren't, but regardless, the
habits we create either help us or hurt us. In order to build habits that improve
our well-being, we need to reward the habits.
In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear refers to the "Cardinal Rule of
Behaviour Change" which states that what is rewarded is repeated and what is
punished is avoided. It’s also the first chapter of this law. He suggests that the
experience of reward is critically important early in habit development, so to
make habits rewarding, he recommends creating an external reinforce that aligns
with our desired identity. Some of his examples are walking in the woods to save
for retirement (identity = freedom and control of time) or taking a bubble bath for
exercise (identity = taking care of our body). External rewards lock in our new
habit. We will repeat what is rewarded.
While extrinsic motivators allow habits to reward work in the early stages of habit
development, it is important to shift the focus from external to internal rewards
for lasting change. Extrinsic rewards are things that are tangible, such as eating a
piece of chocolate after a run or buying shoes after saving money. These rewards
are momentarily satisfying, but author Charles Duhigg reveals in his book "The
Power of Habits" that the most lasting and fulfilling habits are those that provide
a real reward. How something makes us feel becomes more important than what
we get. Feeling proud, successful, satisfied, or grateful creates habits that last
longer. We repeat our behaviour because it is consistent with the person we
believe we are or the person we are becoming.
The next chapter we have is, “how to stick with good habits every day”. We are
all creatures of habit. We tend to get up at the same time every day, brush our
teeth, have our morning coffee, and commute to work following the same
patterns every day. So why is it so hard to create new healthy habits?
Behavioural scientists who study habit formation say that many of us try to form
healthy habits in the wrong way. We make bold resolutions to start exercising or
lose weight, for example, without taking the necessary steps to set ourselves up
for success.
According to author, the best way to keep up with the habits is to have a habit
tracker. A habit tracker is a simple way to measure how and when we did a habit.
The most basic format is to get a calendar and cross off each day we stick with our
routine. Habit tracking is powerful because it leverages multiple Laws of
behaviour change. It simultaneously makes behaviour obvious, attractive and
satisfying.
Habit tracking keeps a person honest with himself. Most of us have perverse
vision of our own altitude. We think we act better than we do. The measurement
of habits gives one way to master our blindness to our own behaviour and notice
what’s going on every day, especially when the report is in front of us, we’re less
likely to lie to ourselves.
The most effective shape of motivation is progress. When we get a signal that
we’re moving forward, we become more motivated to continue our work. In this
way, habit tracking can have an addictive effect on motivation. Each small win
feeds our desire.
Habit tracking provides the visual proof of our hard work- a subtle reminder of
how far we’ve come. The habit tracking could become its own reward. It feels
great to watch our results grow. It helps us to remain focus on the process. The
habit tracking (1) creates a visual cue that can remind us to act (2) in inherently
motivating us see the progress we’re making and don’t lose it and, (3) feel
satisfying whenever we record another successful moment of our moment.
About tracking, it’s not for everyone, but nearly anyone can benefit from it
somehow. To make tracking easier, measurement should be automated.
Secondly, manual tracking should be limited to you most important habits. It is
better to continuously track one habit than to occasionally track more than one.
Finally, record each measurement immediately after the habit happens. The dark
side of habit tracking a particular behaviour is that we become driven by the
number rather than the purpose behind it. It’s crucial to keep habit tracking in its
proper place. It can feel satisfying to record a habit and track our progress but the
measurement is not only the thing that matters. But still, the habit tracking, as the
author describes, is simple way to make your habits more satisfying. Every
measurement provides a little bit of proof that we’re moving in what direction
and brief moment of sudden pleasure of job well done.
The last chapter of this law is,” how an accountability partner can change
everything”. In this chapter, the author, James Clear, the bad habits are likely to
come to an end, if properly monitored by an accountability partner. Just as we are
more likely to repeat an experience when the ending is satisfying, we’re also more
likely to avoid an experience, if the ending is painful. According to the author,
pain is an effective teacher. It gets fixed, if the failure is painful. If the failure is
painless, it gets ignored. The more costly a mistake is, the faster we will learn
from it. In short, when the consequences are severe, people learn quickly. The
more immediate is the pain, the less likely the behaviour. If we want to prevent
bad habits, then adding an instant cost to the action is a great way to reduce their
odds.
We repeat bad habits because they serve in some way and that makes them to
abandon. The best way according to author to overcome this predicament is to
speed up the punishment associated with that behaviour. There can’t be a gap
between the actions and consequences. Thankfully, there is straight-forward way
to add an immediate cost to any bad habit i.e. creating a habit contract.
By creating a habit contract, we make bad habits painful in the moment. Even if
we can’t make a full habit contract, we’d still have an accountability partner,
who’s going to take care of us and would be watching us, resulting in a great
motivation. Knowing someone watching us, we‘re going to less procrastinate, due
to an immediate cost. An accountability partner can create an immediate cost to
inaction. We care deeply about what others think of us, and we do not want
others to have lesser opinion of us.

ADVANCE TACTICS
The author, James Clear, has written some clear advance tactics, when a person
reaches to certain advance level, dealing with his/her habits. The first chapter is “,
the truth of talent or (when genes matter and when they don’t)”. The secret to
maximising our odds of success is to choose the right field of competition. Picking
the right habit and the progress becomes easy, pick the wrong habit and life is a
struggle. Genes cannot be easily changed, which means they provide a powerful
advantage in favourable circumstances and a serious disadvantage in
unfavourable circumstances. Habits become easier when they align with our
natural abilities. We should choose the habits which best suits you. Talent is the
word we use to rationalize this idea; the notion that brilliant mathematicians,
scientists, athletes and musicians are born with excellence encoded in their DNA.
Talent refers to the abilities, skills and expertise that determine what a person can
do. Effort refers to the degree to which a person uses his or her talents.

Genes do not eliminate the need for hard work. They clarify it. They tell us what
to work hard on. Specialization is a powerful tool to overcome the accident of
bad genetics. The more we master a specific skill, the hardest it becomes for
others to compete with us. For instance, bodybuilders are stronger than the
average arm wrestler but even a massive one would lose at arm wrestling,
because the arm wrestling champ has a very specific strength. Even if we’re not
naturally gifted, we can often win by being the best in a very narrow category.
Genetic factors contribute largely to differences in ability and talent in various
areas of intellectual, creative, and athletic ability.

In any profession, it is important to invest time and energy in building capacity

and continuously developing skills to achieve excellence. Talent is not born; it can
be cultivated with passion, motivation, patience and practice.
Furthermore, genes don’t make us successful, if we’re not doing our work. Of
course it’s possible, that the trainer at the gym has better genes, but if we don’t
put in the same reps, it’s impossible to say if we have been dealt a better or worse
genetic hand. Until we work as hard as those we admire, there’s no need to
explain away their success as luck. It’s said that when we can’t win by being
better, we could win by being different. By combing your skill, we reduce the level
of completion, which makes it easier to stand out. We can shortcut the need for a
genetic advantage or for years of practice by re-writing the rules, for example a
good player works hard to win the game everyone else is playing. A great player is
creates a new game that favours their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
Boiling water will soften a potato but harden an egg. We can’t control whether
we’re a potato or an egg, but you can decide to play a game where it’s better to
be hard or soft. Talent is not born; it can be cultivated with passion, motivation,
patience and practice. There is no such thing as a "golf gene," but there is a
continuum of genetic factors that can make you a good golfer, and if you're lucky,
a great golfer. But polygenic luck is not enough, you have to be introduced to an
area of interest and do a lot of hard focused work to develop the automaticity
and knowledge needed to be an expert. Genetics will facilitate the process, but
will not be the end result.

Talent is a matter of genetic potential, but must be introduced by the

environment. Talent could be the result of a skill honed over a number of years
and possibly linked to genetic factors.

The next chapter is about, “The Goldilocks rule: How to stay motivated in life
and work”. Goldilocks' rule states that people experience peak motivation when
working on tasks that are right at the limit of their current abilities. Not too hard.
Not too easy. It’s just right. Martin's comedy career is an excellent example of the
Goldilocks rule. The Goldilocks principle states that something must fall within
certain limits, as opposed to reaching extreme. Steve Martin's successful career in
stand-up comedy is an example of this rule in action. Every year he added a few
extra minutes to his performance and always included new material, but also kept
a few jokes that were sure to get a laugh. There were enough wins to keep him
motivated, enough mistakes to keep him working hard.
 The Downsides of Creating Habits
Habits are good or bad. Even good habits, given free play, can turn bad. A good
habit is, for example, reading. It helps in gaining knowledge, meaningful use of
free time and healthy entertainment. But excess reading of books, magazines etc.
is harmful. It soon affects health, resources, mental health and earning power.
Balance is the golden rule. That is why it is said: "Excess of everything is bad" not
too much, not even good things and habits.

It is easy to adopt bad and evil habits, but not so easy to cultivate and acquire
good ones. Once acquired habits are hard to get rid of. Just as a leopard cannot
change its spots, neither can its habits. They die hard. They become an integral
part of human nature and behaviour. Bad habits make a person useless and
undesirable.

Lying, biting the back, spitting here and there, smoking or frequent and repeated
drinking of alcohol are some of the bad habits. There can be as many as there are
persons. Like a name, a habit holds fast until death. Habits can make or break our
happiness. In fact, it forms the basis of our character and destiny. That's why they
say: "Sow an action and reap a habit." S6w habit and you reap character. Sow
character and reap destiny.” They are the very cornerstones of our character and
destiny.

We are the creators or destroyers of our destiny. Because we cultivate, practice

and acquire good or bad habits and their fruits accordingly. Someone may have a
bad habit of flattering others or making false promises. Similarly, a person may
have a bad habit of stealing things. One habit leads to another, and then there is a
kind of chain of habits from which it is impossible to escape, especially in
advanced age.

Anything that is done often and repeatedly becomes a habit, the power of habit is
very strong. This makes a particular habit easy, automatic and repetitive. Habits
have their origin in repetition, practice and regularity. The more we repeat and
practice anything, the easier, more permanent and automatic it becomes. If we
don't practice and repeat the habit, we feel restless and uncomfortable. Take the
habit of drinking tea, for example. There are people who drink 20 or more cups of
tea a day. They can do without food, newspapers or rest, but they cannot do
without hot cups of tea, which they take almost every hour during the day. They
will feel sick, lethargic, bored and useless without enjoying their cups of tea. The
same goes for smokers or drunks. Habits are too strong to be avoided. It is
constant and repeated use and practice that creates a habit. Without constant
and repeated use and frequency, there can be no habit. Anything done or
practiced occasionally cannot be called a habit. Habits are another name for
addiction. The early and formative years of childhood are very important in this
regard. Then it is very easy to get new impressions and influences. It is the right
time to cultivate good habits. There are many forces and factors that play an
important role in the formation of habits. Early education, impressions,
influences, society, association etc. are some of the major factors in the formation
of habits. Slowly, antiques gradually settle in our nature. Man is also an imitative
being. He likes to imitate others. Imitation also helps a lot in forming habits, both
bad and good. Things done and practiced by elders, parents, relatives,
neighbours, friends, leaders, popular actors, etc. help in shaping them. For
example, a boy who sees his father smoking is very likely to have this bad habit.
The boy can imagine that there must be some joy, thrill, and excitement in the
custom and that is why his father indulged in it. One day he may try it secretly
because smoking material is easily available in the home. He may gradually
become a habitual smoker and spread the word among his friends and co-
workers.

Curiosity, boredom, idleness, routine life also helps to create habits. They say the
entrance mind is the devil's workshop. An idle person is prone to develop bad
habits like card playing, gambling, stealing, drug addiction etc. Bad society and
associations often lead innocent boys and crazy girls to bad habits. A drug addict
may first offer the drug to his friend for free and thereby help him develop a drug
habit. A person needs a lot of money to satisfy bad habits like drinking, smoking,
drug addiction, etc. They can eventually lead a person to stealing, lying, borrowing
and worse.
A person can be said to be a bundle of habits. They can be good or bad. There
cannot be a person who is completely good or completely bad. Speaking the
truth, sincerity, honesty, service to others, cleanliness, reading good books etc.
are some of the good habits. Among young men and women, they need to be
encouraged and helped. Good habits should be appreciated, encouraged and
rewarded: "Example is better than precept". We should always set examples of
good and meaningful habits to children and young men and women. We must
create an atmosphere where good habits are always contagious. Therefore, we
should always be alert and vigilant while forming habits. Bad habits should be
nipped in the bud, and good habits should be tried and practiced again and again,
for they would die and perish for want of them.

Conclusion

The Secrets to Results that Last

Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an
endless process to improve. The secret to achieving lasting results is to never stop
improving. It's remarkable what you can build if you just don't stop. Little habits
don't add up. They are composed.
Appendix
The book-Atomic Habits by James Clear
https://essaystory.blogspot.com/2014/03/essay-on-my-good-habits-and-bad-
habits.html
https://radreads.co/atomic-habits-james-clear/
https://www.getstoryshots.com/books/atomic-habits-summary/