Last Updated on June 14, 2023 by Louisa
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a self-help book about breaking out of bad habits and creating good, healthy new ones.
It was a groundbreaking book when it was released in 2018 and still continues to inspire and motivate people around the world today.
It was considered one of the best self-help books of 2018 by Business Insider and has been described as “A supremely practical and useful book” by Mark Manson, the author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
If you’ve read Atomic Habits and you’re looking for some inspiring mantras or Atomic Habits quotes to remind you to stay on track, here are the best ones…
Inspiring Atomic Habits Quotes
If you’re wondering why Atomic Habits was one of the most inspiring self-help books of the 21st century so far, then take a look at these inspiring quotes from Atomic Habits…
“Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“When you can’t win by being better, you can win by being different.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“We imitate the habits of three groups in particular: The close. The many. The powerful.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it—but all that had gone before.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Atomic Habits Quotes About Goals
One of the major themes of Atomic Habits is setting goals to work towards. Here are some Atomic Habits quotes about goals…
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The only way to become excellent is to be endlessly fascinated by doing the same thing over and over. You have to fall in love with boredom.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“As a general rule, the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more strongly you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Complaining about not achieving success despite working hard is like complaining about an ice cube not melting when you heated it from twenty-five to thirty-one degrees. Your work was not wasted; it is just being stored. All the action happens at thirty-two degrees.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The road less traveled is the road of delayed gratification. If you’re willing to wait for the rewards, you’ll face less competition and often get a bigger payoff. As the saying goes, the last mile is always the least crowded.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Atomic Habit Quotes About Habits
The whole point of Atomic Habits is to break out of bad habits and start creating good ones. Here are some thought-provoking quotes in Atomic Habits about habits…
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it. If you’re proud of how your hair looks, you’ll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it. If you’re proud of the size of your biceps, you’ll make sure you never skip an upper-body workout. If you’re proud of the scarves you knit, you’ll be more likely to spend hours knitting each week. Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us. The outcome becomes expected. And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit. This is a distinguishing feature between winners and losers. Anyone can have a bad performance, a bad workout, or a bad day at work. But when successful people fail, they rebound quickly. The breaking of a habit doesn’t matter if the reclaiming of it is fast. I think this principle is so important that I’ll stick to it even if I can’t do a habit as well or as completely as I would like.
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“You do it because it’s who you are and it feels good to be you. The more a habit becomes part of your life, the less you need outside encouragement to follow through. Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Short Atomic Habits Quotes
Sometimes you only need to say a few words to have a big impact. Here are some short quotes from Atomic Habits…
“Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Good habits can make rational sense, but if they conflict with your identity, you will fail to put them into action.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Happiness is simply the absence of desire.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Focus on whether you are fulfilling your own potential than comparing yourself to someone else.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
“Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits.”
Atomic Habits, James Clear
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Final Word on Atomic Habits Quotes
So there you have it, those are my favorite quotes from Atomic Habits by James Clear and as you can see, there are some really powerful words in this book.
Whether you’re making yourself a vision board or you just need some words of encouragement, no doubt the quotes from James Clear will be inspirational to you.
Do you have a favorite quote from Atomic Habits? Let me know in the comments.
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