Today, I will be reviewing one of my favourite books, Atomic Habits, and I will also share with you what I learned and what my experiences were while reading this book.
This is a brilliant book—especially if you have never read a book before.
In this article, I will review the book for you.
I will try to summarise it, and hopefully through that, we will introduce you to the book.
Mind you, this article is not a replacement for actually reading the book.
So please, don’t be lazy and say, “Oh, I have read the article. I have understood the book. Now I don’t have to read it.”
This should ideally be your reason to read the book.
If you like this article, if you like the concepts that I am sharing, then please pick this book up—because this book can genuinely change your life.
It’s one of those very rare books that, if you read and try to apply to yourself, you can alter your life fundamentally.
So let’s get started.
The first concept from the book, for me, was about small things—small changes.
Tiny changes can result in big results.
Atomic habits can produce a huge result.
What do atomic habits mean? Atomic habits are tiny things that are invisible or not clearly visible.
And habits mean one such practice. So tiny habits produce huge results.
To help you understand that, I will take you back to your childhood.
Imagine you are 10–12 years old. You are attending a wedding, and suddenly an aunty—a distant relative—comes to you and says, “Gasp! He is all grown up!”
“Gasp! She is all grown up!”
And you’re like, “Aunty, everybody grows up. What are we expecting—that I wouldn’t grow up?”
But what really happened here?
What happened was that this aunty perhaps last met you 5 to 10 years ago, and at that time, you were this small.
Now, when she sees you after many years, you have grown up.
You are taller.
You are bigger perhaps.
Your voice has changed.
Your style of clothes and the way you walk has changed.
And she still remembers you as a 5- to 7-year-old.
You look at yourself every day, so if you get taller by one millimetre every day, you don’t even realise it.
But when someone sees you after 5 to 10 years, they say, “Oh my God! You’ve grown!”
This is a very simple way to understand the power of compounding—even if the habit is small.
Small habits compound to give giant results.
Small habits can show you giant results—but you will not realise it on a daily basis.
It will only be visible when you give it a long period of time.
A Powerful Example:
This is a very powerful reminder of habits and how they compound.
Many people don’t understand and ask me, “What does it mean?”
You can see it on the screen:
It means: if you grow in your life by just 1% each day—1.01 to the power of 365—you grow for 365 days.
Then, between your starting point and your endpoint, you have grown by 38 times.
But instead of growing by 1% every day, if you start withering every day, then in one year you will remain only 3% of what you started as.
It means: if you started at 100, you will end at 3.
But if you start at 100 and improve yourself by just 1%, then that 100 will become 3780.
Three thousand seven hundred eighty—that is crazy.
And that is the first and most fundamental part of this book.
Second: What Should We Focus On?
Now, how do we do it?
How will we grow like that?
And that’s where James Clear makes the most powerful statement of all time.
He says: Forget setting goals and targets. Instead, set habits in your life.
Goals and targets are always a short-term view of looking at things.
My Example
When I came to Gujarat, I had only one target from the beginning—that I would work well, learn, and become a good fitter.
And whatever I was doing at that time in my life—every step, every thought, every action of mine—was towards this target.
But I realised: I was good at it, but I wasn’t happy doing it.
I wasn’t feeling happy in what I was doing and what I was good at.
And that’s when I realised that I wanted to come back home and quit my job.
As a 21-year-old, I had no goal or direction.
I came back, and the biggest shock of my life was that I had set a goal and target for myself.
It was a very good one.
It had everything a good goal should have.
And yet—life did not work out for me.
So what’s the point of having a goal or target?
On what basis do I choose a new goal or target?
There’s no basis.
And that’s the reality of life—whenever you set a goal or target like:
-
- I have to do this by 25,
-
- this by 30,
-
- this by 35,
-
- this by 40…
That’s not a goal or a target.
That’s a desire, a wish, or hope—and you are turning that into a goal.
If you achieve it, you pat yourself on the back.
If you don’t, you curse yourself.
But we never ask: what were the foundations or reasons behind setting these goals?
Instead: Build Habits
It’s a very different thing—because that becomes a habit.
And the best part of a habit is that once our brain adopts it, we can even do that thing unconsciously.
Remember the first time you rode a cycle, bike, or drove a car?
Everything was in front of you—you could see every cattle, human, speed breaker—you could hear everything.
You were fully attentive and focused.
And today?
You ride or drive while talking on the phone, listening to music—you’re lost in your own world—you don’t even remember where you’re going, but you still reach your destination.
And you’re like, “Wow, this is magic.”
What changed?
Driving became a habit.
That rhythm got established in your brain—in your subconscious.
So now you don’t have to apply that much energy to drive.
It has become a part of your normal behaviour.
That’s the power of habit.
And this is what the book centres itself on:
If you fix your habits, you can forget about goals and still go further.
But Number 3: It Takes Time.
It won’t happen overnight.
It takes time, my friend.
It won’t happen overnight.
If you start working on a habit, you won’t get the results overnight.
Remember every instance when you decided to lose weight?
We just had January 1st few months ago.
I’m sure many people made resolutions, which are now broken.
A lot of them went to the gym, started running, lifting weights, walking…
It’s been a week—nothing is happening.
Weight has increased.
It’s been two weeks—weight is the same.
We’re waking up every morning in the cold, fighting ourselves… still, nothing is working.
“It doesn’t work. Leave it. It’s nonsense. Enjoy your life. Have fun!”
That’s it—we give up.
Because it takes time to establish a habit.
Habit is like a child.
When a child is born, it doesn’t start walking, talking, or reading from day one.
We have to be patient. We have to help them.
And once they learn, they pick up speed—they start running, playing, talking at amazing speed.
Habits are like children.
You have to nurture them, be patient, and once they’re established, it all becomes automatic.
My Reading Journey
Reading is a great example for me.
Reading became a habit set during childhood.
I never read books like these earlier.
Earlier it was Chacha Chaudhary, Billu, Pinky, Super Commando Dhruv, Nagraj—but it was fun reading them.
I used to feel relaxed. And with that, I developed a habit of reading something every day.
Now, as I’ve grown, I read books that transform me.
Back then, those comics weren’t adding much to my life—but what was happening?
A habit was being formed.
And that’s the same thing:
You can make a habit at any age—whether you are 18, 21, 25, 30, 35, or 40—it doesn’t matter.
A habit is a habit.
How to Build a Habit (4-Step Process)
James Clear shares a four-step process which is the foundation of this book:
-
- Make the habit obvious
- Make the habit attractive
- Make the habit easy
- Make the habit satisfying
- Make the habit obvious
What are these four things?
Let’s find out.
1. Make it obvious.
Let’s say you want to build a habit of reading a book.
You need to make it obvious that you want to read a book.
The best way? Keep the books you want to read beside your bed when you’re about to sleep.
Because then—you will see it.
It’s not locked in a cupboard. It’s not hidden on a bookshelf.
You don’t have to get up to access it.
It’s easily available—and visible.
That’s why our habit of checking the phone has become obvious. Why?
Because we always have the phone with us.
So, as soon as we wake up, we rub our eyes and check the phone—because it’s right next to us.
Whatever is next to you becomes easier to turn into a habit.
If you want to wake up and drink water, keep a water bottle next to you.
That makes it obvious.
2. Make it attractive.
Using the same example: you want to make reading a book a habit.
You might have the book next to you—but it’s a heavy-duty book, a biography or a technical book you don’t want to read.
There’s no attraction. No excitement.
No interest.
Instead, if you’re trying to build the habit, start with a book you want to read.
It could be a comic—it could be Chacha Chaudhary or Asterix or whatever you enjoy.
But it must be a book you look forward to reading.
If you want to lose weight, try joining a gym where you meet people you like.
You’re excited to meet them, make new friends, and work out with them.
Whatever it is—make the habit attractive to pursue.
3. Make it easy.
“Easy” means—remove friction.
Whatever is creating a gap between you and the habit—you must eliminate it.
For example, if you want to read but you’re using a hardback while lying down, it might hurt your hand.
Slowly, you get annoyed and stop.
You didn’t make it easy.
What can you do?
-
- Sit up and read 5 pages
- Sit up and read 5 pages
-
- Use a paperback instead of a hardcover
- Use a paperback instead of a hardcover
-
- Get a Kindle (it’s lighter)
- Get a Kindle (it’s lighter)
Whatever it is—make it easy to get into the habit.
That’s why, if your gym is far away, most people quit.
It’s winter. Who wants to go out on a bike or drive far?
But if your gym is in your complex—or you’ve bought weights at home—you’re far more likely to work out.
Reduce the friction.
4. Make it satisfying.
“Satisfying” means—there must be a reward.
You must feel acknowledged after doing it.
Satisfaction doesn’t mean “Who I will be when I get fit—muscles, fat loss, good looks.”
That’s too far away.
You need to make it immediately satisfying.
For example,
-
- Tell yourself: “If I read for 15–30 minutes, I’ll check my phone for 15 minutes.”
- Tell yourself: “If I read for 15–30 minutes, I’ll check my phone for 15 minutes.”
-
- Or: “If I go to the gym today, I’ll eat my favourite healthy breakfast.”
- Or: “If I go to the gym today, I’ll eat my favourite healthy breakfast.”
-
- Or: “I’ll watch something fun on my phone after the workout.”
- Or: “I’ll watch something fun on my phone after the workout.”
Just don’t choose rewards that negate the habit.
For example, “If I go to the gym for an hour, I’ll eat a chocolate bar.”
That takes you backwards.
Choose a reward that feels good, but doesn’t cancel the habit’s progress.
Conclusion
These four steps help you form lasting habits.
James Clear says in Atomic Habits:
“It’s not necessary that big habits will change your life.
If you are able to implement small habits for a long time,
you will see a transformed life for yourself.”
2 Habits I Built in My Life
-
- Reading – I read for at least half an hour every day.
-
- Meditation – I meditate for 10 minutes every day.
Atomic Habits is not just a book—it’s a guide to transforming your life through small, consistent actions. It teaches that you don’t need big goals to succeed; you need the right habits. By making your habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying, you can build lasting change. Whether you’re 18 or 40, it’s never too late to start. If you want to improve your life step by step, this book is the perfect place to begin.
Everything can be learned from people by adopting the purpose outlined in this book.
That was my review of Atomic Habits.
Brilliant book—highly recommended.
If you’ve never read a book in your life, start with this one.
You will not regret it.
