“Atomic Habits” is one of the most talked-about books in the self-improvement world. I had been hearing about it for ages but kept putting it off, partly because I felt I already knew what it covered from podcast interviews with the author. However, I finally decided to read it, and I am glad I did. In this post, I will share my five key takeaways and how they have shaped my thoughts on building better habits.

Let’s now see more about the book Atomic Habits.

Learnings from Atomic Habits

The book is a solid introduction to habit formation, though it did not feel groundbreaking to me because I was already familiar with much of the content through other sources. That said, it is an excellent resource for those new to the topic or looking for a clear and actionable guide to habits.

While the subject was not new, in the habits world is not knowing that makes a difference, it is putting into practice.

Regarding habit creation, I would say I am average. In my view, I have good ones (I read a lot for example) but also I have bad ones (mostly related to diet). So I found interesting things in the book that I can share here.

Now, let’s dive into the key lessons I took away from “Atomic Habits” and how they apply to everyday life.

1. Little changes matter

We often dismiss small changes because they do not produce immediate results. However, as the book highlights, small, consistent efforts compound over time. For instance, saving a dollar a day may feel insignificant, but over a year, it adds up to meaningful progress.

If you start following a diet, you will probably see the results in a few months (not days). If you start saving money, you will see results in a few years and decades, not in a few months.

Start with one small, manageable habit. For example, read one page of a book daily or take a 5-minute walk.

2. True behavior change is identity change

Real change in how you act comes from changing who you are, and your identity. You might begin a new habit because you’re motivated, but you’ll only keep it up if it becomes a natural part of who you are. As the author says, "… the process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.".

So in order to have effective change, you have to change who you are and the habits will be a result of that.

But identity is a tricky thing. We change over time, so our identity will change as well. So we need to change our identity (and what we want to be) to a flexible one.

A good example of a flexible identity that was provided in the book is the change from “I am an athlete” to “I’m the type of person who is mentally tough and loves physical exercise”. The first one is fixed, and as you grow older you can have an identity crisis as for any reason you cannot identify with that identity anymore. But the second one is more flexible and you can use it your whole life.

3. Don’t rely on self-control

Trying to exercise self-control is a very expensive task. It burns brain energy and willpower and it makes it easy to fall into the trap. As the author says “​​Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one. You may be able to resist temptation once or twice, but it’s unlikely you can muster the willpower to override your desires every time.”

To make it easy to not fall into temptation, a good approach is to change the environment so we don’t have the temptation there in the first place.

I personally do that with food. I avoid having unhealthy food at home. Sometimes when I am anxious, tedious, frustrated, or any other strong emotion, I tend to go to to my cabinets and refrigerator. If I only have healthy food at home, I have no choice of eating unhealthy food as I don’t have it.

PS: This is very similar to the “The Ulysses Contract”

4. Any progress is better than no progress

Sometimes we feel that if we are not making big progress it is not worth it. But for habit creation that is not true. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Going to the gym for 5 minutes is better than not going at all. Saving 5 dollars is better than saving nothing at all.

Few sensations are as gratifying as the sense of moving forward and making progress.

In summary, “Atomic Habits” reinforced the importance of small, consistent actions and aligning habits with identity. While much of the content was not new to me, it served as a helpful reminder to stay focused on the basics of habit formation. If you are looking for practical strategies to improve your habits, this book is worth a read. Have you read “Atomic Habits”? I would love to hear your thoughts or key takeaways in the comments!

Favorite quotes

These are my 5 favorite quotes from the book.

  • “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long run.”
  • “Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.”
  • “Put another way, the costs of your good habits are in the present. The costs of your bad habits are in the future.”
  • “This is a continuous process. There is no finish line. There is no permanent solution.”
  • “Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure (which is joy or satisfaction), but about the lack of desire. It arrives when you have no urge to feel differently. Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state.”

Other resources

This section is extra and here I compliment the post with content from other sources that resonate with the book:

Liked this post? Check out other posts part of the series Learnings from books where my goal is to share what I learned from the book that I read. It is a mixture of review and summary with a bit of my opinion and point of view