It had been a while since I read some nonfiction. Even though I had a few books on my tbr for a long thing. I could never bring up the energy or mood to actually read them. Not because they're not interesting to me, but because they require me to be focussed while reading them. Because I am often busy with studies or my work, I did not feel that excited to read nonfiction afterwards. Yet, when I learned about this book, Atomic Habits by James Clear, I was actually intrigued. Since, there was so much hype around the book, on all platforms I'm also part of. So, I bought it, and during my 3-week Christmas break, I decided to read it. I'm glad I did!
I really like learning. In my future, I see myself hopefully making a living off my writing, but also having the time to read books, nonfiction being one of the genres I read in. Like I said, I'm now busy with my studies and cannot always find the time. Yet, I hope that in my future I am able to take the time to learn new things, especially in other fields than my studies.
Because I heard so much praise for the book, I decided that I wanted to check it out for myself. I have read some nonfiction before, but not much. Last time must have been over a year ago and was an audiobook if I remember correctly. I didn't have a good experience with that because I am more able to remember things when I read it than when I listen to it. So that was a turn off for me and since then I do not think that I've started another nonfiction book. Another thing that I disliked back then was the fact that so many things were repeated over and over again, but it didn't really make an impact on me. But for this one, I was actually excited.
So, Atomic Habits. The first thing I want to say is that here too, Clear did repeat himself often. But not to the point really where it bothered me, but I did notice it. I guess that that is part of nonfiction? But I haven't read enough to know that for certain, I am still planning on reading more though!
Atomic Habits talks about the fact that for big changes in your life, you need to start with small steps. With small daily changes, you are able to build habits that later have a bigger impact on your life. Changes as small as putting a book on your pillow each morning as a reminder to read before going to sleep at night. By using different 'Laws', he explains what is important to know how to build good habits, but also how to break bad ones. Because habits can both be positive or negative. I really liked the psychological and biological aspect that he sometimes used to explain something. I want to understand how my mind and body works so that I sometimes feel more in control. Or not as bad as I do because that is just how minds are programmed. This is something that is not taught in school, and I also do not learn this in my studies because I study literature. However, I have always found brains to be very interesting, even though it is not something I want to analyse fully or do something with, in my future.
How Clear explained that cues (triggers for certain habits) are different for everyone, was so interesting to learn more about. The chapter on your identity and who you want to be as a person (and what habits fit that person) was also eye-opening. I love this perspective on mindset and habits and it let me think about who I want to be as a person. Especially the first part of the book I really enjoyed. During the read, I underlined certain phrases and added notes. I enjoyed the aspect of me pondering over certain topics, thinking about things I should think about more often and the conversation it let me have with my boyfriend (who studies psychology).
I would have loved to have a more in-depth conclusion, talking over all the aspects of the novel, maybe including some kind of worksheet. So, that was a little disappointing. Because it has been a few days since I finished the book, and I haven't (yet) made actual steps to change something particular in my life. Mostly because I want to spend some time thinking and writing out who I want to be and what kind of habits would fit. But also habits I already do, which ones to keep, which ones to add, which ones to break. I want to spend some time thinking about this, but for that, I need to reread parts of the book. And in deadline-season, I do not have too much free time at the moment... Clear does often add that for extra information, you can go to his website, so I will definitely give that a good look too.
I loved the process of reading the book. It opened my eyes to the fact that I like to learn about these things. I still have some nonfiction on my bookshelves, I want to try to read them this year. If you've read Atomic Habits, what did you think of it? I would love to hear your opinion in the comments!
With love,
Julia
Comments