Atomic Habits, Not a Review.
Hey pals! Dive into 'Atomic Habits,' Just my thoughts and quirky methods I've tried. Try some habit talk and my 'non-professional' wisdom. Catch you on the flip side!
Hey there,
In the last two newsletters, I have mentioned Atomic Habits several times, so I thought why not tell you about my experience with the book itself? I am not writing a review, but rather sharing my thoughts on the book and experience surround it. Before Atomic Habits, I had only read Malayalam fiction books and was not a fan of non-fiction books. However, after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, I started looking for a non-fiction book in English, preferably in simple English. I finally found a book that met my requirements, thanks to Alex's Twitter recommendation. You can check his Twitter, my bad X page if you're interested, Click here.
When I mentioned to a friend that I was planning to buy Atomic Habits, she laughed at me, thinking it was an unusual idea to create or change habits by reading and taking notes from a book. Other day I have met a girl from Book Kinokuniya, and I really went to the store just to check the prices, not to buy anything. To find out how much I was making a profit when I bought some items from Amazon. I was asking the staff about the position of the book, and while he was in the process of memorizing it, the girl said the position of the book and gave me a quick review of the book. She is with her family that seems to be Malayali, but her fluent English made me think otherwise. Her English was too good for a Malayali. She is like a 7th or 8th grader, which made me realize that I am too late for building a reading habit and improving my English.
We can look back to the book, and publishers give significant importance to the design. The design is quite good, featuring a modern minimal classic style. However, when it comes to word wrapping, it can be annoying. By word wrapping, I mean continuing words from the previous line with a hyphen. There are almost 300 pages in the book, with a few blank pages at the start and end of each chapter, as well as some blank pages for graphs, tables, and other visual elements. I appreciate this because I count the blank pages as part of my reading experience, and the increased number has boosted my motivation. The English used in the book is quite simple, making it an excellent choice for those who want to start reading English books. In every chapter, there are some points that require reading and understanding, as well as taking action.
When I am forced to choose only three points from the entire book, it will be:
Motion to action: It's all about consistency, not perfection.
Never miss twice.
It's more important to do when you don't feel it. In the case of bad habits, don't do when you feel like doing it.
Create an environment in your favor, or you will slip into your environment's favor.
I cannot just pick three points from this classic. Focus on the process rather than the goals. This sentence gave me some real thinking. Regardless of your age, profession, status, or anything else, practice this masterpiece at least once. I just not said read, by that I mean it. practice. There is no other book that has influenced me like this. And the funny part is that "Atomic Habits" is only my second non-fiction book.
Let me tell you about the methods I used practically from the book:
From motion to action: Even this newsletter is a result of one of the methods. I think I have clearly mentioned Action and Motion in the first newsletter. Click here to see the newsletter.
Habit contract: This method is amusing because whenever I break the contract, I have to face consequences such as not being able to use social media, etc. This method really helps me stay consistent. To see the template, click here.
Setting the environment: I used the same example as in the book, keeping a water bottle nearby. Every time I see the bottle, I feel an urge to drink water.
Habit stacking: This method involves stacking a habit that needs to be done with a habit that you want to do. In my case, I can only scroll through social media, after journaling.
When I share all the methods, there is no fun. If you are just reading and passing, it's a nice book. However, when you start practicing, it will be something good. The one thing I've done is practice the methods I read on that day. The reason I'm telling you about Atomic Habits is that I don't get a topic other than this, and it's annoying every time I mention it in all my writings. If you really want to build a habit or break a habit, this is the perfect book (although I know there is nothing perfect). Until next time, take care.
Peace out,
Muhammed Labeeb