The most critical learning from this book was in order to achieve desired results we should focus on processes rather than outcomes. A process is made up of many smaller task hence it is imperative to achieve those smaller tasks to complete the process. This smaller task gets converted into a habit - Atomic Habits.
Important learning from the book:
1. Small habits (termed as Atoms in the book) practiced daily leads to long lasting big changes over periods of time
2. Environment you live in matters more to develop good habit rather than external motivation
3. Give yourself small rewards for sticking with routine, focus on regular practice rather than obsessing over perfecting it
4. Bad habits are difficult to break than developing good habits hence stay away from environment that promotes bad activities
5. Main theme of book: People become what they do everyday repeatedly
6. Having patience is critical as good habits take time to provide tangible results
7. People do not rise to the level of their goals, rather, they fall to the level of the system they follow, hence focus on system, process & journey rather than the GOAL.
8. Daily training matters rather than taking stress about the final outcome
9. Mind follows a neurological feedback loop, which consists of cue - response - reward - Craving for more called the habit loop
10. Make Habits Stacks - Add a new habit before or after an existing daily habit, your mind will pick up new habit faster if it feels like a flow, New habit can be complimented along with an activity you love like drinking coffee can be clubbed with book reading
11. Good habit should be broken down into 2 mins small activities and people should focus on completing those 2 mins tasks rather than entire activity
12. Joining a culture where the desired habit is considered normal, is another good way of sticking to the routine.
13. While small changes can make a big impact, the impact only happens if you consistently stick to these changed habits over a period of time
14. Behavior change consists of three layers – outcomes, processes, and identity. Outcome is the outer layer, which comprises the results of a habit. Process defines the actions people follow to achieve the results, and identity, the innermost layer, indicates the beliefs people hold. It is imperative to change the underlying identity, which leads to negative habits, to create good habits.