A Big Lesson I Learnt from Reading 'Atomic Habits' that You will need
For a book titled atomic habits, which literally means the smallest particles in existence (atoms), it has some big lessons embedded in it. I am going to share with you the biggest lesson I learned.
My attention was drawn to this life-changing book by James Clear, when a book influencer on Twitter asked his followers, "what book changed your life after reading it?" I had clicked on the comment section to find out that more than 75% of the replies said "atomic habits by James Clear."
My curiosity about the book started rising when I visited the website where I usually get my books, searched for it and saw that it had 4.9-star ratings and 95% positive reviews. My curiosity was raised even higher when I saw the subtitle—Tiny changes, remarkable results.
James started the book by narrating his story. How an unfortunate accident almost tinted his baseball career. But guess what? He recovered and six years later, he was selected as the top male athlete at Denison University.
How was it possible that he was able to achieve such impeccable results despite the impact of the accident? Through the power of small habits. He was able to plan and discipline himself until he could achieve his dreams.
So what's this Big lesson I learnt?
SLOW STEADY STEPS.
That's a powerful lesson I picked up from reading atomic habits. Make slow but steady steps.
Let's discuss…
A big project, whether in your personal life, career, relationship or business, comes with an intimidating sense of overwhelmed. And when an overwhelming attitude sets in, procrastination follows.
But the trick is to break this into small chunks, then take it one at a time. You will notice an incredible pace and ease with which you will get it done.
I tried this habit hack this 1st quarter of 2022, and it worked for me.
So I started this year with a big goal to acquire new skills. I had figured that to climb higher on my career ladder, I need a new set of skills, other than my B.sc. But I noticed that anytime I think about it, I get overwhelmed. And the only thing I wanted to do was put it off. Procrastination.
However, I applied James' small habit rules. I broke down my skill acquisition goals into small bits.
- January 2022: Discovering my interest. I researched different niches in writing and which ones will meet my needs. By the end of that month, I settled on copywriting (Email Marketing) and SEO content writing.
- February 2022: I started my skills learning by reading books. Then proceeded to take an online email marketing course on HubSpot and got my certification too. By the end of February, I had already applied for my first email marketing job on Upwork and I got it.
- March 2022: SEO Content Writing was my goal. I did the same thing as the previous month. I broke it into smaller bits. The first week was reading books. The second and third weeks were for taking online courses and of course, getting my certificate.
Imagine if I had just dived right in without bothering to break it into smaller chunks. I might still be lurking around email marketing, maybe with no hope of getting my certificate yet.
Thank God I read atomic habits and was smart enough to apply what I have learnt in my career.
In all honesty, the lessons from atomic habits are what everyone needs to start applying in their lives. Take your time and break those big projects into smaller chunks, and then start taking it one step at a time.
Slow and steady steps still win the race. You won't figure anything out by trying to be the fastest finger. Calm down and take life one step at a time.
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