Atomic Habits

“The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it. If you're proud of how your hair looks, you'll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it. If you're proud of the size of your biceps, you'll make sure you never skip an upper-body workout. If you're proud of the scarves you knit, you'll be more likely to spend hours knitting each week. Once your pride gets involved, you'll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits.”

What a doozy of a quote. I guess it pays to be a prideful guy.

Well, it seems luck isn't on my side when it comes to personal development reads, and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear is no exception. Despite the hype surrounding it, I find myself once again let down by a tired, regurgitated pop psychology book that fails to deliver.

The information presented feels like a rehash of what I've stumbled upon in the productivity blogosphere for the past decade. But it's not just the lack of freshness that bothers me—it's the execution. The writing feels robotic, the repetition grows tiresome, and the cherry-picked anecdotes conveniently support the author's points, often taken out of context. Even the scientific references feel shaky and questionable at times.

While the core ideas explored in “Atomic Habits” aren't inherently bad, they've already been covered by other authors with more depth and skill. Writers like Kelly McGonigal and George Leonard come to mind, offering a richer exploration of the subject matter. Frankly, I can't help but feel that the material in this book could have easily been condensed into a blog post or article. Instead, what I encounter is a bloated book filled with unnecessary fluff, making it feel like an extended infomercial for the author's blog. It's evident that this is just another platform to boost his personal brand and generate ‘passive income'.

I guess the world really needed another privileged marketer with an A-type personality telling people they can become like him if they follow his ‘secret formula.' It seems tailor-made for a specific group of individuals—those who aspire to be the lifestyle-hacker extraordinaire, like Tim Ferris, and his devoted followers.

P.S.
I should note that despite my disappointment, I've come across individuals who found value in this book, claiming it transformed their lives. However, in most of those cases, they failed to sustain the new habits they initially adopted and years later it's like they never read the book.

While “Atomic Habits” didn't meet my personal expectations, it may still hold potential for people who are new to the subject or resonate with the author's approach. And hey, if it floats your boat and makes you feel like the captain of your own destiny, who am I to rain on your parade? Happy reading!