Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits by James Clear was very good. I had been seeing this title all over the place, and I had it on my list of books I wanted to read, but kept pushing it back. Strangely, something that had never happened before made me read it: my mom saying she had read and really liked the book. 

When I did read it, what I liked most about this book is that James Clear doesn't just give a list of things to do. He tells real historical stories to illustrate his points. My favorites were the story about the Polgár family. There were these two teachers who believed in the power of nurture more than nature to raise their kids to be geniuses through practice and habits. They had three daughters, Zsuzsa, Zsófia, and Judit, and all three of them became chess prodigies. One of them is even regarded as the best female chess player of all time. I also liked the story of Vietnamese soldiers becoming addicted to heroin in the war environment, and people figured they would always be addicted. The strange part was when the war ended, and the people came home, the change of environment made 99% got rid of their addiction, and only 10% even tried the drug again. These cases should show the incredible power of the brain and how it works.

The book focuses on the importance of small changes leading to building good habits or breaking bad ones over time. James Clear calls them "atomic" because they are tiny, like atoms, but when you build them up, they create something huge. 

I really liked the book as it showed me how doing something to get better is better than not doing something and waiting for the right time, even if the actions are small. I highly recommend reading this book, if not for the advice, for the great writing and various other interesting cases. 

Thank you for reading,

Alex Deschler