Atomic Habits

If you want to develop habits that are easy to maintain and lead to success, choose habits that align with your capabilities. Behaviors that highlight your strengths and interests will be more enjoyable and easier to stick with.

Your Genes and Your Habits

Everyone has different talents, abilities, and interests, and your genetic make-up has a lot to do with what yours are. Your genes encompass characteristics that create your personality. Although genes are immutable, they are flexible in how they support your life choices. Put your energy toward things that excite you, and your genes will give you a successful edge.

When working for you, genetic predispositions give you an advantage. When working against you, they give you a disadvantage. Genes do not determine your destiny, but they do determine which opportunities will benefit you the most.

Environment has a lot to do with whether your genes work for or against you. This is why selecting the right behaviors and environment is crucial for your success.

Consider a 7’0” muscular young man. His genetic make-up gives him height and strength, but these predispositions are only useful in the right environment.
If he decides to play basketball, his genes will give him an advantage.
If he decides to be a horse jockey, his genes will not suit him well.

One of the best ways to determine which behaviors and environments are right for you is by learning which personality traits you possess.

The Big 5 Personality Traits

There are 5 personality traits, each with a spectrum of behavior that highlights who you are. All five have biological underpinnings and typically remain unchanged throughout your life.

Openness to experience—from curious and daring to cautious and unvarying.
Conscientiousness—from organized and methodical to spontaneous and relaxed.
Extroversion—from sociable and gregarious to reclusive and reticent.
Agreeableness—from affable and caring to difficult and withdrawn.
Neuroticism—from fretful and sensitive to assured and resilient.

Understanding your personality doesn’t dictate what behaviors you’re capable of performing. However, your personality does suggest which behaviors you will most likely gravitate toward and be successful with.

A less agreeable person will struggle to build a habit of forming one social connection a week or sending out greeting cards.
An extrovert will have a harder time staying off of social media than an introvert.
Someone who is conscientious will have more success creating better working habits.

There’s a version of each habit and behavior that falls along your spectrum of personality. What works for someone else may not work the same way for you, so you must build habits based on what aligns with who you are and what you like, not on what society or your friends and family expect.

To lose weight, you may find that nature hikes are more enjoyable than going to a gym.
To write more, you may enjoy writing romance novels more than literary fiction.
To quit smoking, you may need assistance with patch or therapy, rather than doing it cold turkey.

The right habit makes compliance simple and fun. The wrong habit is like pushing a cart of rocks uphill. Whatever your path of least resistance is to your desired behavior change, follow it to experience more enjoyment and motivation.

What Behaviors Are Right for You?

Even if you know what your personality is, knowing which behaviors suit you best may not be obvious. Use trial and error to find the right experiences and environments for success.

The process of trial and error includes periods of exploration and exploitation. During exploration, you should remain open to the various paths that lead to your desired identity. Exploration occurs at the beginning of any new behavior or activity.

Relationships form after a number of dates.
A college major is chosen after a year or two of general studies.
A restaurant opens only after a number of soft openings.
Cars are sold to the public after several trial runs at the factory.

Once you explore and find a good path for or response to your desired behavior, stick with it. When you find success with a certain response, exploit that behavior or activity.

Exploitation means repeating the successful behavior or activity again and again to gain more successful results. Once success starts to wane, it’s time to start exploring again.

(Shortform example: You determine that taking a spin class is the best solution for your desire to exercise more. You stick with it and form a routine. However, the cost of the class becomes a burden on your finances. You don’t have to go back to the beginning to find something else that works. You already have a habit of sticking with exercise and like riding a bike. You explore other options, such as borrowing a friend’s bike or renting a stationary one. You decide to make a one-time expense to purchase a stationary bike at home to use long-term.)

A good balance during trial and error is to exploit successful behaviors 80% to 90% of the time and to explore other options 10% to 20% of the time.

Time: Friend or Foe

Not everyone has the luxury of all the time in the world to explore what works best for them. Young people have more time and opportunities to explore. Older people might have to start exploiting right away to get faster results. Regardless of which category you fall into, there are four questions that help cut through the jumble of options to help you use your time effectively.

1. What is fun for me but hard for others?

Activities you enjoy that are not universally considered enjoyable point to behaviors that align with your genetic predispositions.

2. What makes time fly for me?

Being in the zone, or the “flow state,” only occurs if you’re successful and engaged in what you’re doing. Any activity that creates this sensation is in line with your genetic make-up.

3. Which behaviors or activities provide returns for me that are better than the returns of others?

Compare yourself with others and focus on behaviors that give you more success than they do other people.

4. What behaviors or activities come naturally to me?

When do you come alive or feel the most like your authentic self?

Specialization

Some people are lucky enough to know what behaviors favor them from the beginning. Their personality gravitates toward opportunities already existing, and all that is required is hard work to find success. Others struggle to find something in life that aligns with their talents and personality. If you’re in the latter group, one solution is to make up your own place in the world.

You may have multiple behaviors that feel natural and in line with your talents and personality. You may experience marginal success in several things. If this is the case, combine two or more talents to create a niche where you can excel and where the competition is low.

For example, the cartoonist for the comic strip Dilbert combined his talents to create his popular comic. He could draw but wasn’t as good as most artists. He was funny but not enough to be a comedian. He knew he wasn’t going to succeed in solely following one of those two paths, so he combined them and used his business background to create a career that allowed both his talents to flourish in an effective way.

Specialization helps overcome the detriment of “bad” or “subpar” genes. You can turn any odds toward your favor if you create a more favorable environment for your talents. Win by being different, not by being better. Create your own path for success to ensure your talents stand out.

Genetics Are Only Half the Battle

Your inherent talents and personality will not make you successful on their own. Genes make the most of your expended energy by suggesting what you should focus on. But genes do not stand in for hard work.

You must first work hard at something before you know if the behavior or activity is truly in your wheelhouse. Even if you are naturally gifted at something, doing nothing or putting in the smallest amount of effort will not equal success.

Micheal Phelps is likely not the only person alive with a body designed optimally for swimming. But of those, he is the most successful because of years of training and sacrifices made to make the most of his genetic predisposition.

Likewise, not having a specific talent or natural gift for a certain activity does not equate to failure. You can succeed at anything you want to do as long as you put in the work. You may not reach the highest levels of achievement, like the Olympics, or have the easiest time working toward your goal, but if you don’t put in the work, you’ll never know what you’re capable of.