Atomic Habits THE PLATEAU OF LATENT POTENTIAL

By James Clear. Summary by u/SunnyNie

Contents
• The Fundamentals
• How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice
Versa)
• The 1st Law: Make it Obvious
• The 2nd Law: Make it Attractive
• The 3rd Law: Make it Easy
• The 4th Law: Make it Satisfying

The Fundamentals

Advice To make earth-shattering improvements, do

not seek for massive changes, but change by just Advice Focus not only on making good habits, but
making small improvements on a daily basis also removing bad ones
Quote “If you want to predict where you’ll end up in Quote Habits are a double-edged sword. They can
life, all you have to do is follow the curve of tiny gains work for you or against you
or tiny losses, and see how your daily choices will Positive compounding
compound ten or twenty years down the line.” • Productivity compounds: Accomplishing one
extra task every day or automating an old task
Advice Be patient with your habits every day can lead to a lot over an entire
Fact The effect of small habits are delayed. You don’t career.
immediately see good results from good small habits, • Knowledge compounds: Learning one new
and neither bad results from small bad habits. But, idea every day not only makes you know more,
overtime, they compound to something much larger. but allows you to see old ideas through new
Quote “Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your perspectives.
habits. ” • Relationships compound: Helping others more
Fact: Why people stop building positive habits: They and being nicer in each interaction can result in
see that they’re failing to make a tangible result and a network of strong connections over time.
decide to quit. Negative compounding
Quote “It is not until months or years later that we • Stress compounds: Stressing every day can
realize the true value of the previous work we have lead to serious health issues
done.” • Negative thoughts compound: The more you
Quote Small changes often appear to make no think of yourself or others negatively, you will
difference until you cross a critical threshold. The most spiral uncontrollably towards that direction.
powerful outcomes of any compounding process are
delayed. You need to be patient.
Advice Focus on systems rather than setting goals.
Fact Society worries about setting specifi c, actionable
goals, but the real results lie when you focus on the
system.
Quote “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You
fall to the level of your systems.”
 • The goal is not to learn an instrument, the goal is to
How Your Habits Shape Your become a musician.
FACT The reason why your positive habits fail to stick
Identity (and Vice Versa) is because they confl ict with your current identity.
FACT Feedback loops: “Your habits shape your
identity, and your identity shapes your habits.”

Three layers of behaviour change:

ADVICE Know what result you want, work backward to
fi nd what type of person could get those results. Work
to become that person by continuously accumulating
small habits.
TWO STEP PROCESS TO CHANGING YOUR
IDENTITY
1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.
QUOTE The most effective way to change your habits
is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on
who you wish to become.
QUOTE “Every action you take is a vote for the type of
person you wish to become. No single instance will
transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so
Outcomes: Concerned with results (ex: publishing does the evidence of your new identity.”
book, general goals) QUOTE The most practical way to change who you are
Process: Concerned with changing your habits and is to change what you do.
systems (ex: new gym routine)
Identity: Changing your beliefs, worldview, self- The Science Of How Habits Work
image, and judgements. QUOTE The process of building a habit can be
divided into four simple steps: cue, craving, response,
and reward.
ADVICE Focus on who you wish to become rather
than what you want to achieve
EXAMPLE Being offered a cigarette and saying “No
thanks. I’m trying to quit” vs. “No thanks. I’m not a
smoker.” Small difference but one is a goal and the
other is a shift in identity.
QUOTE The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is
when a habit becomes part of your identity.
FACT Once your pride gets involved in your habit, 1. Cue: Triggers brain to initiate a behaviour
you’ll fi ght hard to maintain them. 2. Craving: Motivational force behind every habit.
QUOTE “True behaviour change is identity change. “Every craving is linked to a desire to change your
You might start a habit because of motivation, but the internal state.”
only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part 3. Response: The actual habit performed. If friction is
of your identity.” low and the reward is great, the response will be
• The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become carried out.
a reader. 4. Reward: End goal of every habit. “The cue is about
• The goal is not to run a marathon, the goal is to noticing the reward. The craving is about wanting
become a runner. the reward. The response is about obtaining the
reward.
FACT We chase rewards because they satisfy us and type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a
because they teach us that these actions are worth vote for or against my desired identity?”
remembering in the future.
FACT “If a behaviour is insuffi cient in any of the four ADVICE Create an implementation intention: “I will
stages, it will not become a habit.” BEHAVIOUR at TIME in LOCATION”
• Studying. I will study Spanish for twenty minutes at 6
p.m. in my bedroom.
THE FOUR LAWS OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE • Exercise. I will exercise for one hour at 5 p.m. in my
local gym.
How to Create a Good Habit • Marriage. I will make my partner a cup of tea at 8
a.m. in the kitchen.
The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious FACT The two most important cues that can trigger a
The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive habit are time and place.
The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy QUOTE People who make a specifi c plan for when
The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying and where they will perform a new habit are more
likely to follow through.
How to Break a Bad Habit
ADVICE Use Habit Stacking to build new habits
Inversion of the 1st law (Cue): Make it invisible QUOTE One of the best ways to build a new habit is to
Inversion of the 2nd law (Craving): Make it unattractive identify a current habit you already do each day and
Inversion of the 3rd law (Response): Make it diffi cult then stack your new behaviour on top. This is called
Inversion of the 4th law (Reward): Make it unsatisfying habit stacking.
QUOTE Rather than pairing your new habit with a
particular time and location, you pair it with a current
The 1st Law: Make it Obvious habit.

ADVICE Create a habits scorecard to observe what is ADVICE Create a habit using the habit stacking
going on formula: “After CURRENT HABIT, I will NEW HABIT”
QUOTE This is one of the most surprising insights • Meditation. After I pour my cup of coffee each
about our habits: you don’t need to be aware of the morning, I will meditate for one minute.
cue for a habit to begin. You can notice an opportunity • Exercise. After I take off my work shoes, I will
and take action without dedicating conscious attention immediately change into my workout clothes.
to it. This is what makes habits useful. • Gratitude. After I sit down to dinner, I will say one
FACT Many of our habits are performed thing I’m grateful for that happened today.
subconsciously • Marriage. After I get into bed at night, I will give my
QUOTE Once our habits become automatic, we stop partner a kiss.
paying attention to what we are doing. • Safety. After I put on my running shoes, I will text a
QUOTE The process of behaviour change always friend or family member where I am running and
starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your how long it will take.
habits before you can change them. FACT Once you have a basic structure, you can begin
HOW TO CREATE A HABITS SCORECARD creating longer stacks by chaining your small habits
1. List out all of your daily habits together using the Diderot Effect.
2. Looking at each habit, ask yourself if that habit is a Case 1:
good, bad, or neutral habit. Mark each habit on the • After I pour my morning cup of coffee, I will meditate
list as such. for sixty seconds.
3. If a habit is hard to determine with step 2, ask • After I meditate for sixty seconds, I will write my to-
yourself: “Does this behaviour help me become the do list for the day.
• After I write my to-do list for the day, I will FACT “Gradually, your habits become associated not
immediately begin my first task. with a single trigger but with the entire context
Case 2: surrounding the behaviour. The context becomes the
• After I finish eating dinner, I will put my plate directly cue.”
into the dishwasher.
• After I put my dishes away, I will immediately wipe ADVICE “Create a separate space for work, study,
down the counter. exercise, entertainment, and cooking.”
• After I wipe down the counter, I will set out my coffee FACT It is easier to build new habits in a new
mug for tomorrow morning. environment because you are not fi ghting against old
cues.
ADVICE Create general habit stacks: QUOTE Every habit should have a home.
• Exercise. When I see a set of stairs, I will take them QUOTE A stable environment where everything has a
instead of using the elevator. place and a purpose is an environment where habits
• Social skills. When I walk into a party, I will introduce can easily form.
myself to someone I don’t know yet.
• Finances. When I want to buy something over $100, I ADVICE Cut bad habits off at the source by changing
will wait twenty-four hours before purchasing. your environment or eliminating the cues.
• Healthy eating. When I serve myself a meal, I will QUOTE So, yes, perseverance, grit, and willpower are
always put veggies on my plate first. essential to success, but the way to improve these
• Minimalism. When I buy a new item, I will give qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined
something away. (“One in, one out.”) person, but by creating a more disciplined
• Mood. When the phone rings, I will take one deep environment.
breath and smile before answering. FACT “A habit that has been encoded in the mind is
• Forgetfulness. When I leave a public place, I will ready to be used whenever the relevant situation
check the table and chairs to make sure I don’t leave arises.”
anything behind. FACT People with high self-control tend to spend less
FACT “Habit stacking works best when the cue is time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid
highly specifi c and immediately actionable.” temptation than resist it.
• BAD: When I take a break for lunch, I will do ten FACT You can break a habit, but you’re unlikely to
push-ups. forget it. Once the mental grooves of habit have been
• GOOD: When I close my laptop for lunch, I will do carved into your brain, they are nearly impossible to
ten push-ups next to my desk. remove entirely—even if they go unused for quite a
while.
ADVICE Design your environment such that cues of • If you can’t seem to get any work done, leave your
preferred habits are obvious. phone in another room for a few hours.
FACT “When the cues that spark a habit are subtle or • If you’re continually feeling like you’re not enough,
hidden, they are easy to ignore.” stop following social media accounts that trigger
• If you want to remember to take your medication jealousy and envy.
each night, put your pill bottle directly next to the • If you’re wasting too much time watching television,
faucet on the bathroom counter. move the TV out of the bedroom.
• If you want to practice guitar more frequently, place • If you’re spending too much money on electronics,
your guitar stand in the middle of the living room. quit reading reviews of the latest tech gear.
• If you want to remember to send more thank-you • If you’re playing too many video games, unplug the
notes, keep a stack of stationery on your desk. console and put it in a closet after each use.
• If you want to drink more water, fill up a few water
bottles each morning and place them in common
locations around the house.
The 2nd Law: Make it Attractive Most days, we’d rather be wrong with the crowd than
be right by ourselves.”
FACT “We tend to imitate the habits of three social
ADVICE “If you want to increase the odds that a
groups: the close (family and friends), the many (the
behaviour will occur, then you need to make it
tribe), and the powerful (those with status and
attractive.”
prestige).”
FACT “It is the anticipation of a reward—not the
QUOTE One of the most effective things you can do
fulfi llment of it—that gets us to take action. The greater
to build better habits is to join a culture where your
the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike.”
desired behaviour is the normal behaviour.
QUOTE Whenever you predict that an opportunity will
FACT People imitate the habits of the close, the many,
be rewarding, your levels of dopamine spike in
and the powerful
anticipation. And whenever dopamine rises, so does
FACT “Whenever we are unsure how to act, we look to
your motivation to act.
the group to guide our behaviour.”
FACT We try to copy the behaviour of successful
ADVICE Combine habit stacking + temptation
people because we desire success ourselves.
bundling:
FACT “If a behaviour can get us approval, respect, and
QUOTE Temptation bundling works by linking an
praise, we fi nd it attractive.”
action you want to do with an action you need to do.
HOW
ADVICE Associate hard habits with positive
After CURRENT HABIT, I will HABIT I NEED.
experience
After HABIT I NEED, I will HABIT I WANT.
HOW: Reframe your habits to highlight their benefi ts
Case 1: If you want to read the news, but you need to
rather than their drawbacks
express more gratitude:
Case: Exercise
• After I get my morning coffee, I will say one thing I’m
• NOT: I need to go run in the morning.
grateful for that happened yesterday (need).
• DO: It’s time to build endurance and get fast.
• After I say one thing I’m grateful for, I will read the
QUOTE Habits are attractive when we associate them
news (want).
with positive feelings and unattractive when we
Case 2: If you want to watch sports, but you need to
associate them with negative feelings. Create a
make sales calls:
motivation ritual by doing something you enjoy
• After I get back from my lunch break, I will call three
immediately before a diffi cult habit.
potential clients (need).
FACT Every habit has a deeper underlying motive
• After I call three potential clients, I will check ESPN
other than surface desires.
(want).
FACT Your habits are modern-day solutions to ancient
Case 3: If you want to check Facebook, but you need
problems.
to exercise more:
• Find love and reproduce = using Tinder
• After I pull out my phone, I will do ten burpees
• Connect and bond with others = browsing Facebook
(need).
• Win social acceptance and approval = posting on
• After I do ten burpees, I will check Facebook (want).
Instagram
• Reduce uncertainty = searching on Google
ADVICE “Join a culture where (1) your desired
• Achieve status and prestige = playing video games
behaviour is the normal behaviour and (2) you already
FACT “Your current habits are not necessarily the best
have something in common with the group.”
way to solve the problems you face; they are just the
FACT “Behaviours are attractive when they help us fi t
methods you learned to use.”
in.”
• Smoking to relieve stress vs running to reduce
FACT “The culture we live in determines which
anxiety
behaviours are attractive to us.”
QUOTE Once you associate a solution with the
FACT “The normal behaviour of the tribe often
problem you need to solve, you keep coming back to
overpowers the desired behaviour of the individual.
it.
The 3rd Law: Make it Easy QUOTE Reduce the friction associated with good
behaviours. When friction is low, habits are easy.
ADVICE Set up your environment so the next time you
ADVICE Focus on taking action rather than planning
perform a good habit will be very easy and very hard
and strategizing.
to do a bad habit.
QUOTE The most effective form of learning is practice,
QUOTE Prime your environment to make future
not planning.
actions easier.
QUOTE We are so focused on fi guring out the best
approach that we never get around to taking action.
ADVICE Use the two minutes rule
FACT Planning, strategizing, and learning makes it feel
QUOTE The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a
like you’re making progress real when you’re not.
new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
QUOTE You don’t want to merely be planning. You
• “Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one
want to be practicing.
page.”
QUOTE Habit formation is the process by which a
• “Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my
behaviour becomes progressively more automatic
yoga mat.”
through repetition.
• “Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”
QUOTE The amount of time you have been
• “Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.”
performing a habit is not as important as the number
• “Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.”
of times you have performed it.
ADVICE Enforce the two minute rule if you believe
you are tricking yourself. Force yourself to quit after
THE HABIT LINE
exactly two minutes if you don’t feel like working on it.
QUOTE The more you ritualize the beginning of a
process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip
into the state of deep focus that is required to do great
things.
QUOTE Standardize before you optimize. You can’t
improve a habit that doesn’t exist.
QUOTE Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit
from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent
basis.

ADVICE Consider habituating an easier habit if it

leads to working on a more diffi cult habit
• Make your habit stepping into the bus rather than
the gym workout.
QUOTE Habits can be completed in a few seconds but
ADVICE Make your habits convenient continue to impact your behaviour for minutes or
HOW Increase the friction associated with bad hours afterward.
behaviours and reduce the friction associated with QUOTE Many habits occur at decisive moments—
good habits. When friction is high, habits are diffi cult, choices that are like a fork in the road—and either send
and vice versa. you in the direction of a productive day or an
QUOTE Human behaviour follows the Law of Least unproductive one.
Effort. We will naturally gravitate toward the option
that requires the least amount of work. ADVICE Make doing bad habits diffi cult by using a
FACT The less energy a habit requires, the more likely commitment device
it is to occur QUOTE A commitment device is a choice you make in
QUOTE Create an environment where doing the right the present that locks in better behaviour in the future.
thing is as easy as possible.
• Buy food in individual packages rather than bulk size QUOTE Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a
to prevent overeating habit.
• Ask to be added to the ban list at casinos to prevent
gambling sprees ADVICE Use immediate pleasure to start a habit, but
• Buy a device that shuts internet off at 10pm to sleep slowly it would be unnecessary and habit will become
early self sustaining
QUOTE Onetime choices—like buying a better
mattress or enrolling in an automatic savings plan—are ADVICE Track your habits
single actions that automate your future habits and QUOTE One of the most satisfying feelings is the
deliver increasing returns over time. feeling of making progress.
• Moving paperclip from one jar to another for each
ADVICE Find ways to automate your habits whenever sales call you make
possible QUOTE A habit tracker is a simple way to measure
QUOTE Using technology to automate your habits is whether you did a habit—like marking an X on a
the most reliable and effective way to guarantee the calendar.
right behaviour.
ADVICE Tracking habits should be as automated and
The 4th Law: Make it Satisfying simple as possible
FACT It is diffi cult to start a habit, it is even more
diffi cult to start a habit and start a habit tracking habit
ADVICE Add immediate pleasure to good habits and
at the same time.
immediate pain to bad habits.
• Credit card statement tracks how often you go out to
FACT “We are more likely to repeat a behaviour when
eat
the experience is satisfying.”
• Fitbit tells you how many steps you take and how
FACT ”The human brain evolved to prioritize
long you sleep
immediate rewards over delayed rewards.”
ADVICE Only manually track your most important
FACT “The Cardinal Rule of Behaviour Change: What
habits.
is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is
ADVICE Immediately measure and mark your habit
immediately punished is avoided.”
after fi nishing a session.
QUOTE To get a habit to stick you need to feel
QUOTE Don’t break the chain. Try to keep your habit
immediately successful—even if it’s in a small way.
streak alive.
QUOTE The fi rst three laws of behaviour change—
QUOTE Never miss twice. If you miss one day, try to
make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—
get back on track as quickly as possible.
increase the odds that a behaviour will be per formed
this time. The fourth law of behaviour change—make it
ADVICE Get an accountability partner to make doing
satisfying—increases the odds that a behaviour will be
bad habits unsatisfying
repeated next time.
FACT We are less likely to repeat a bad habit if it has
immediate painful consequences.
ADVICE When selecting rewards for habits, do not
QUOTE In general, the more local, tangible, concrete,
select rewards that run counter to what the habit is
and immediate the consequence, the more likely it is
about.
to infl uence individual behaviour.
• Do NOT reward buying a new jacket if habit is to
QUOTE An accountability partner can create an
save money
immediate cost to inaction. We care deeply about
• CAN reward buying a new jacket if habit is to read
what others think of us, and we do not want others to
more.
have a lesser opinion of us.
• Do NOT reward eating ice-cream if habit is to lose
QUOTE A habit contract can be used to add a social
weight
cost to any behaviour. It makes the costs of violating
your promises public and painful.
QUOTE Knowing that someone else is watching you MASTERING A FIELD
can be a powerful motivator.
Advanced Tactics: How to Go from Being Merely
Good to Being Truly Great

ADVICE The Goldilocks Rule states that humans

experience peak motivation when working on tasks
that are right on the edge of their current abilities.

THE GOLDILOCKS RULE

ADVICE You need to layer improvements on top of

one another.
QUOTE Right when things are starting to feel
automatic and you are becoming comfortable—that
you must avoid slipping into the trap of complacency.
ADVICE Engage in refl ection and review to make sure
you are still improving
Every summer:
What are the core values that drive my life and
work?
How am I living and working with integrity right
now?
How can I set a higher standard in the future?
Every new year:
QUOTE The greatest threat to success is not failure What went well this year?
but boredom. What didn’t go so well this year?
QUOTE As habits become routine, they become less What did I learn?
interesting and less satisfying. We get bored. QUOTE Refl ection and review is a process that allows
QUOTE Anyone can work hard when they feel you to remain conscious of your performance over
motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work time.
isn’t exciting that makes the difference.
FACT Really successful people feel the same lack of ADVICE Keep your identity small
motivation as everyone else, however, they still fi nd a QUOTE The tighter we cling to an identity, the harder
way to practice despite the boredom. it becomes to grow beyond it.
QUOTE Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs QUOTE The more you let a single belief defi ne you,
let life get in the way. the less capable you are of adapting when life
challenges you.