Reading notes: "Atomic Habits" (atomic habits)

I don’t read reference books very much, I read outlines or listen to podcasts at most, because many reference books like to drag things that can be finished in a chapter into a book (yes, otherwise how can they sell books?) However, recently, three friends have different I strongly recommend the same book "Atomic Habits". They all say that this book is very practical. Just as I desperately want to get rid of the bad habit of eating snacks, let's see if it can help me cultivate my body and mind.

The core concept of the book is very simple - a habit is formed by repeated actions. It is better to do a little bit every day than to do it on a whim. This is similar to the concept of compound interest in investment. As author James Clear puts it:

"Improving 1% every day, you will be 37 times better than your original self in one year."

The point is that little bit, that 1% - we break things down to the smallest unit and improve it. For example, if you want to be a runner, where breathing is very important, then practice how to breathe well every day. Breathing in and out doesn't seem to affect your day-to-day life, and you won't suddenly be able to run a marathon after practicing breathing for a week. However, if you run every day, you will accidentally discover: "Huh? I was out of breath after running 5 kilometers, but now I can still sing while running after 8 kilometers like Sammi Cheng!" This is the compound interest of atomic habit effect.

Recognizing that atomic small habits can bring huge atomic effects, each of the following chapters provides different tools and techniques to help readers quit bad habits and cultivate good habits.

The author summarizes the four steps of habit formation - we will encounter certain situational cues (for example, you are sitting on the sofa watching TV), and thus generate cravings (I really want to eat potato chips, it is a perfect match with watching TV!), you The response is your habit (eat the chips), you get the reward (enjoy the feeling of decompression and indulgence) and encourage you to do it again next time. Don't doubt, this example is vivid and bloody, and it is a bad habit that I have been unable to quit for many years.

The author's suggestion is to change our habits every step of the way.
(1) Make the reminder more obvious/invisible For example, if you want to cultivate the habit of reading, you can put a book in every corner of your home. Eyes and noses fixed, you can't escape the reminder to read a book even if you want to.

(2) Make the desire more attractive/unattractive For example, if you want to quit the bad habit of eating snacks, imagine yourself as a big fat woman when you want to eat snacks, so as to make this desire unattractive.

(3) Make it easier/more difficult to respond . For example, in order to develop a good habit of cooking at home, the ingredients are processed and distributed on weekends, and there is no excuse not to cook on weekdays, because it is so convenient.

(4) Make the reward more satisfying/dissatisfying For example, if you want to quit the habit of online shopping, every time you successfully resist the temptation to buy something, deposit that money into an account specially designed for travel (provided you like traveling more than shopping), treat yourself as a reward.

The above is just a summary of the content. The author shares some specific methods in each chapter, so that you can better intervene in the above four steps to change habits.

One of the tricks I've been most impressed with (and experimented with) is Habit Stacking - stacking a new habit you want to develop with an old one you already have. I make coffee every morning (old habit), and I make it a rule to sit down and write after I make coffee (new habit), making coffee a reminder to write.

There's another tip called the 2 Minutes Rule - your new habit should be easy enough to complete in two minutes. The key is that it should be so simple that you have no burden to do it every day. Day after day, it will gradually form a habit, and then it will become more difficult. I don’t think it needs to be two minutes, it’s enough to grasp the principles well. Let’s talk about the new habit of writing. At first, I only asked myself to write a paragraph. Even if I was efficient that day, I didn’t let myself write more.

This method is especially effective for people with procrastination, because the two main reasons for procrastination are (1) wanting to be perfect but not thinking of a perfect solution, so you can't start - the 2-minute rule is based on action rather than results, whatever you You give me two minutes to do this anyway; (2) It looks hard so I keep avoiding it - the 2 minute rule makes things look much easier, and I don't want to avoid it so much.

These are auxiliary tools. The biggest influence on me in the whole book is not the tool, but how I look at the habit. Instead of treating a habit as an individual act, it should be connected to who we want to be. Rather than saying you want to develop a habit, think of it as something that comes naturally to you as a person.

Sounds a bit abstract right? for example. I want to be a healthy beauty. When faced with snacks, I don’t tell myself "No snacks, no snacks", but think "I am a healthy beauty, do healthy beauties eat snacks?" Every time When you step into a supermarket, you have to imagine yourself shopping as a healthy beauty. People who pay attention to their health, figure and skin condition will not wander in the snacks and sweets section.

Quitting and cultivating habits are playing games with your own head. I wish you success in breaking through.

p/s: I am now cultivating the habit of running in the morning, so I put on my sweatpants every day before going to bed, and it has been the fourth consecutive day of success!