02: The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits

Waqar Ahmed | The Atomic Habits by James Clear

This is one of the most fascinating chapters in the book “The Atomic Habits” by James Clear.

The central thesis of this chapter is divided into two points:

Atomic Habits have a huge impact on human life
Real success comes from focusing on the process instead of the goals

Let’s discuss each point in separate paragraphs:

Small habits might not have a large-scale impact on one’s life but surely they must not be underestimated. When small habits compound together, they create a huge difference in life. You cannot learn any subject at once; there are lots of topics that need equal attention in order to become an expert in the subject. Those small topics might not have little importance for you, but when combined together - they create a massive river of knowledge about the subject.

“When we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replacing poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results.” – James Clear

The other part of this chapter disfavor the goal-oriented strategy. Goals when created only focus on the big-picture views and they are more likely to disappoint us when we can’t achieve them because we never calculated the time and energy they will consume during the process to achieve them. Therefore, focus on the process. Make tiny milestones on a daily basis and indulge yourself in them. Don’t get deluded by the charm of goals, they are the end results. James Clear says, “Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”

He also highlights some fundamental problems when we focus on Goals:

Winners and Losers have the same goals.
Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.
Goals restrict your happiness.
Goals are at odds with long-term progress.

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