I started Atomic Habits tonight and here is why you should too.
If I had a nickel for every person who has asked me if I have read Atomic Habits in the past several months, I am pretty sure I’d have a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in hand right now. Surely, those friends ask because I would consider myself a fairly active reader and my preferred genre is personal development, and I am a big fan of Charles Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit—so it makes sense they would ask.
My response to friends is, “Atomic Habits by James Clear?”
And I am not joking that 98% of you respond, “I don’t know, but the book is great.”
Here is my take on that:
We need to work on how you read, people. Context is everything and that includes the authority of an author, my friends— research your author before you start the book!
When a book spreads quickly, draws people in, and they have the audacity (just kidding, that’s strong), but they have the confidence to recommend it to someone else, makes me think it’s a book worth grabbing. That’s my theory anyways.
And that actually has nothing to do with why I ask the clarifying question, I just ask because I love James Clear— I am one of those subscribers he references in his introduction, who jumped on the email list and loyally followed his writing, which eventually led to his book deal. So until last night, I had not read Atomic Habits by James Clear, but then I started it and laughed, because I am one chapter in and know exactly why all of you had asked.
James Clear’s take on building strong habit systems that change lives perfectly matches those rhythms I talk about in building leader development practices-- daily habits that lead to transformation when sustained over time. He could be the adjacent researcher in the developmental lab and from across our cubicles we toss over stats and facts we are uncovering as we pour into the transformational journeys of the people we work with.
Ok maybe not so much, but we do carry a similar through-line in our identity-first philosophy of personal and professional development.
Here is where I think you’ll find overlap with the ways I approach building out rhythms that are in line with Atomic Habits. Coffee on Leadership is an approach where leader identity comes first— self-awareness, uncovering your strengths, digging into your core values, understanding how decisions and principles guide relationships and communication with employees. It’s all rooted in identity and we find it by working towards the following questions:
“Who am I?”
“What do I believe?”
“Why am I committed to this work?”
And then we require that leaders lean in and choose consistency and integrity to their identity through action, every single day and in every interaction.
Clear approaches the process of development in the same way, “Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.” Since I just started, I can’t give you much more than that. But I will admit, I too am hooked and will keep reading and likely recommending.
To make a long story (actually book rec) short, pick up Atomic Habits and then a stack of Leader Cards and let’s get to work because Clear says, “You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.” I agree, and as leaders, our trajectory is radically shaped by every decision we make day-in and day-out. What is your current trajectory and are you ready to make a major move?
Cheers.