Why (Atomic) Habits are Important

By Hannah Ferguson

No matter how old you are or how long you have been at Germer International, personal development and learning is something we value and always encourage. I have read a lot of books throughout my two and a half years here, and I can genuinely say, I have learned and grown (both personally and professionally) from each one.

My favorite book, and the one that has impacted my life the most, is Atomic Habits by James Clear.  To give you a quick summary, James explains the importance of creating habits through small, easy, and consistent actions.  He lists his Four Laws of Behavior Changes to follow if you are looking to create or change any habits: Make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. Even with little actions and changes, if you stick with it, all of your efforts will compound and eventually lead to strong and successful habit changes.

It was easy to think about habits I wanted to work on in my personal life (going to the gym regularly, waking up early, eating healthy, etc.), but it was not until I brought up the book to my boss that I realized how important the little habits are to our work.  Everything that we do and all of our potential success, comes down to a strong foundation and being consistent with the little habits.  As James explains, every big achievement is a compilation of little successes (even though the small wins might take a while to become noticeable).  If you do not do the small things, you will never be able to consistently achieve your big goals!

This book had a huge impact on my day to day personal and work life.  I now keep track of all the little goals, whether that is making a certain number of calls by 12pm each day or putting my gym shoes on as soon as I get home to prepare for the gym, I start small and focus on remaining consistent.  Even if I go off track on day, the most important thing is to get right back into my routine.  I would d highly recommend reading Atomic Habits, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to create effective and long term habits.