Atomic Habits - Chapters 6 - 10

I recently started reading Atomic Habits as part of book club where we read one chapter per day. 

I decided to summarize some of my takeaways of reading the chapters 6 through 10 in this book

Chapters 6 and 7

These chapters explore the relationship between the environment and our habits

Motivation is overrated; Environment often matters more

Chapter 6 starts off by defining the seemingly obvious relationship between the environment and habits.

If you want behaviors that are stable and predictable, you need an environment that is stable and predictable.

The secret to self control 

Chapter 7 explores how changes to our current environment can positively affect our habits. Not everyone is in a situation to change or optimize their environment to a degree that will allow a good habit to develop and bad one to diminish. But I do agree that we so often waste energy on having a strong will rather than using that effort towards optimizing our environment.

Instead of summoning a new dose of willpower whenever you want to do the right thing, your energy would be better spent optimizing your environment.

Chapter 8 - How to make a habit irresistible

Scientists can track the precise moment a craving occurs by measuring a neurotransmitter called dopamine.

I’ve heard about this before at a very high level in the context of social media. It was interesting to learn that if the reward is expected, the dopamine actually gets released at the anticipatory step. Furthermore, a delayed reward causes a dopamine reinforcement. 

This chapter does lay out a number of potentially negative habits to make the point that we should be setting up habits for success by associating them to a reward. It encourages extending the stacking a habit we wish to develop with an activity that provides rewards.

Chapter 9 - The Role of Family and Friends in shaping your habits

One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.

This chapter is a reminder that the people around us inspire and reinforce the habits we want to build.

The shared identity begins to reinforce your personal identity. This is why remaining part of a group after achieving a goal is crucial to maintaining your habits.

Chapter 10 - How to find and fix the cause of your bad habits

The one quote that stood out to me in this chapter was the following -

Life feels reactive, but it is actually predictive.

We often take actions believing that we are simply reacting to an external stimuli. 

At a microscopic level, these actions are in fact governed by past actions and experiences that have simply reinforced our actions. The author lists a few base level desires that can be unknowing drivers of our actions.

• To conserve energy
• Obtain food and energy
• Find love and reproduce
• Connect and bond with others
• Win social acceptance/approval
• Reduce uncertainty
• Achieve status and prestige

And lastly, the author also emphasizes how vocabulary is a factor in us liking a habit or detesting it-

Reframing your habits to highlight their benefits rather than their drawbacks is a fast and lightweight way to reprogram your mind and make a habit seem more attractive.