Atomic Habits

Presented by: Varun S

Vidula Parvatkar

Vijay Anand
James Clear’s Story

• Former college baseball player (ESPN Academic All-

American)
• Injuries forced a career shift toward writing and self-
improvement
• Passion for understanding human behavior and its
impact on success
• Started publishing articles at jamesclear.com
• In 2015, he signed with Penguin Random House
• He launched Habits Academy
Fundamentals:The Surprising
Power of Atomic Habits

• Atomic Habits
• The Story of British Cycling
• Small Habits Make a
Difference:
1% Better Every Day
Habits as Compound Interest
• The Plateau of Latent Potential
• Forget about Goals, Focus on
Systems
How Your Habits Shape Your
Identity (and Vice Versa)
• Three Layers of Behavior Change:
 Outcome change
 Process change
 Identity change
• Outcome-Based Habits vs. Identity-Based Habits:
 Outcome-based habits focus on what you want to achieve.
 Identity-based habits focus on who you wish to become.
• The Two-Step Process to Changing Your Identity:
1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps
• Habit Formation into Four
Steps:
cue, craving, response, reward
• The Habit Loop
• The Four Laws of Behavior
Change:
make it obvious, make it attractive,
make it easy, make it satisfying
The 1 Law
st

Make It Obvious
• Pointing-and-Calling: Raises awareness by verbalizing actions,
increasing conscious engagement.

• Habits Scorecard: Simple exercise to become aware of behaviors,

categorizing them based on their long-term benefits.

• Implementation Intention: Pairing new habits with specific time and

location.
• Habit Stacking: Pairing new habits with current habits.

• The Influence of Environment on Behavior: People often choose

habits based on their surroundings

• Importance of Visual Cues: Small changes in what is seen can lead

to significant shifts in behavior
The 2 Law
nd

Make it Attractive
How to Make a Habit Irresistible
• Supernormal stimuli:
Tinbergen's experiments with herring gull chicks showed that they had an innate preference for pecking at
objects with red spots, resembling the red dot on their parents' beaks. This demonstrates how certain innate
behaviors, like the gulls' attraction to red spots, can be shaped by natural selection and genetic programming.

• Influence of Supernormal Stimuli on Human Behavior:

Supernormal stimuli are exaggerated versions of natural cues that can trigger strong behavioral responses,
often leading to excessive engagement.

• Dopamine and Habit Formation:

The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming. Habits are a dopamine-
driven feedback loop. When dopamine rises, so does our motivation to act.
• Temptation Bundling: Making Habits More Attractive:
Temptation bundling is a strategy that involves pairing a desired behavior (temptation) with a
necessary behavior.By linking a habit you want to do with a habit you need to do, you can make the
task more attractive and enjoyable.

• Temptation Bundling with Habit Stacking:

The habit stacking + temptation bundling formula is:
1. After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED].
2. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].
The Role of Family and Friends in Shaping
Your Habits
People tend to adopt the habits and behaviors of those
closest to them, including family members and friends.
• The Seductive Pull of Social Norms:
Social norms have a powerful influence on our behavior.
We often conform to group behavior to avoid standing
out or going against the grain. This conformity can lead
us to adopt certain habits simply to fit in with the tribe.
We imitate the habits of three groups in particular:
1. The close.
2. The many.
3. The powerful.
• Imitating the Close:
Proximity has a strong effect on our behavior. We tend to imitate the habits of those closest to
us, such as family and friends.

• Imitating the Many:

The behavior of the group or tribe we belong to can have a significant impact on our habits.

• Imitating the Powerful:

Humans are drawn to behaviors that earn respect, approval, admiration, and status. We tend to
imitate successful or high-status individuals because we desire similar levels of success and
recognition.
How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your
Bad Habits
Highlight the benefits of avoiding a bad habit to make it seem
unattractive.

Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings

and unattractive when we associate them with negative feelings.

Create a motivation ritual by doing something you enjoy

immediately before a difficult habit.
The 3 LAW
rd

Make it Easy
Walk Slowly, but Never Backward
• The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning.
• Focus on taking action, not being in motion.
• Habit formation is the process by which a behavior becomes
progressively more automatic through repetition.
• The amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as
important as the number of times you have performed it
The Law of Least
Effort
• The law of least Effort: when deciding between
two similar options, people willnaturally gravitate
toward the option that requires the least amount
of work.
• Create an environment where doing the right
thing is as easy as possible.
• Reduce the friction associated with good
behaviors. When friction is low, habits are easy.
• Increase the friction associated with bad
behaviors. When friction is high, habits are
difficult.
• Prime your environment to make future actions
easier.
How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the
Two-Minute Rule
• Two-Minute Rule: “When you start a new habit, it should take less
than two minutes to do.”
• Habits can be completed in a few seconds but continue to impact
your behavior for minutes or hours afterward.
• Many habits occur at decisive moments—choices that are like a fork
in the road—and either send you in the direction of a productive day
or an unproductive one.
How to Make Good Habits Inevitable and
Bad Habits Impossible
• Sometimes success is less about making good habits easy and more about
making bad habits hard.
• A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls
your actions in the future.
• The ultimate way to lock in future behavior is to automate your habits.
• Onetime choices are single actions that automate your future habits and
deliver increasing returns over time.
• Using technology to automate your habits is the most reliable and effective
way to guarantee the right behavior.
The 4 LAWth

Make it Satisfying
• The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change:
If you're immediately rewarded for
doing something, you're likely to do it
again. On the flip side, if there's an
immediate punishment, you'll probably
avoid that behavior.

• Role of Dopamine: It is a
neurotransmitter that plays a key role in
the brain's reward system. It is released
not only when we receive a reward but
also when we anticipate it.
• Immediate Rewards: When habits are
linked to positive experiences in the short
term, individuals are more likely to repeat
those behaviors

• Three Layers of Change

1.Change Your Outcomes: Align the Habit
with Positive Results.
2.Change Your Processes: Make the Habit
Enjoyable and Satisfying.
3.Change Your Identity: Connect the Habit to
Your Desired Self-Image.