Why, I read the book: recommended by a friend
What I learned from readingAtomic Habits:
Our habits define who we are. They are the compound interest of self improvement or self destruction. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of our habits multiply as we repeat them. The author writes, “they seem to make little difference on any given day, and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It is only when looking back two, five, perhaps 10 years later, that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones become strikingly apparent.“ Just small 1% improvements can lead to a massive success. The author provides for simple laws for creating good habits and breaking bad ones.
Law #1: Make it obvious- Designing your environment to make the cue of good habits obvious and visible.
Law #2: Make it attractive- join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
Law #3: Make it easy- reduce friction and down scale your desired habits. Instead of having the goal of writing a book, make a habit to write only one page per day.
Law #4: Make it satisfying- give yourself an immediate reward, and keep track of your habit streak.
Breaking bad habits:
Law #1: Make it invisible – Reduce exposure, remove the cue of your bad habits from your environment.
Law #2: Make it unattractive – highlight the benefit of avoiding bad habits.
Law #3: Make it difficult – increase friction, restrict your future choices to the ones that benefit you.
Law #4 : Make it unsatisfying – get an accountability partner, make the costs of your bad habits, public and painful.
How reading Atomic Habits will contribute to my success after prison:
I have formed healthy habits while in prison that I will carry on after release, like exercising every day, reading a book or two per week, eating healthy options from Commissary, and writing consistently. Of course, once I am released, I will develop new habits with new environments. One strategy from this book will be very helpful to review my new and current habits and make adjustments accordingly. The author calls it creating integrity reports. Every year I will look back on my notes and habit reports and evaluate what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what I learned. Then I will answer three base questions, according to my current circumstance. For example, #1 : What are the core values that drove my life and work? #2 : How am I living and working with integrity right now? #3 : How can I set a higher standard in the future? Our goals and environments are always evolving so our habits must evolve with them. This is a good way to ensure that your habits are helping you become the person you desire to be.
