20 Quotes from Atomic Habits by James Clear
Since its release in 2018, I’ve made it a tradition to reread Atomic Habits every year. This book has incredibly influenced how I approach productivity and tackle tasks. Whenever I struggle to get things done or fulfill my commitments, the principles from the book linger in my mind. I know what steps to take, even if I sometimes fail to act on them.
- Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
- You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
- Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it.
- Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
- The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity.
- New identities require new evidence. Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
- Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity.
- A stable environment where everything has a place and purpose is an environment where habits can easily form.
- It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement.
- The process of behavior change always starts with awareness.
- Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done. But really, you’re just preparing to get something done.
- The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities.
- Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way.
- The holy grail of habit change is not a single 1 percent improvement, but a thousand of them.
- Small habits don’t add up. They compound.
- The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows.
- Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist.
- Sometimes success is less about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits hard.
- Reflection and review enable the long-term improvement of all habits because they make you aware of your mistakes and help you consider paths for improvement.
- The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us.