Root Book Pick: Atomic Habits Review.

This month, in Root Book Picks, we picked a book that had been staring us in the bookshelf for weeks. We were tempted to read it, but like everything in life, it comes at the perfect time.

This book came into our hands to fill us with wisdom and motivation, helping us break patterns, create new habits and start living a healthier life.

In this post we share some of the lessons he taught us and we invite you to read it with us. Are you ready to become the best version of yourself?

The book is called Atomic Habits , but what does that mean exactly? The idea behind the title stuck in my mind, giving a new meaning to how I lived my day-to-day life, and to the way I viewed my good and bad habits.

We all have bad habits we want to get rid of, and we always dream of creating new ones.

Within those dreams is the thought: "When I achieve this, my life will change, I will be happier, or my problems will disappear." However, many times, we forget to recognize the habits we already have and the things we do do. Why? Because habits, in the end, become automatic. If you still have a hard time doing something, it's because it's not a habit yet, you're just forming it.

It is very important to recognize our achievements and good habits. Give yourself a pat on the back from time to time and be thankful every day that you have the opportunity to do them. These small habits, like making the bed, reading a book or watering the plants, often go unnoticed.

With bad habits, we tend to minimize their impact . We justify ourselves, we downplay them so as not to feel guilty. For example, when we say: "Oh! I'm on my period, I feel bad, I deserve to treat myself to a coffee and a sweet roll." And so we continue with the bad habit.

Let's be honest, there's always something that pushes us to keep going: if it's raining, "I'll have a cigarette"; if it's cold, "I won't exercise"; if it's someone's birthday, "I'll eat the cake."

At the end of the day, these actions, good or bad, may seem small, minuscule, like atoms. But it is the sum of these small habits that create a big impact on our lives. Just like the sum of our atoms allows us to walk, live, breathe and experience life. Isn't that amazing?

James Clear's theory is simple: find the atomic habit, that 1% that you can improve or change. Don't set unattainable goals. If your new habit is simple, achievable, and you do it every day, you'll add up to that 1%, and in the long run, you'll be propelling your life to a better place.

Every decision you make today will impact the direction of that line on the graph of your life. Habits don't always have immediate results, they take time, and you need to be patient. Focus on that 1% today.

Let's go back to the sweet bread example. Normally, when we start a diet, we forbid ourselves a lot of foods and we submit ourselves to a complicated regime. How many of us have not left the nutritionist with a list of things that we cannot eat? At first, we follow the plan, but after a couple of weeks, we break the diet, stop weighing the food and return to the same old habits.

Let's follow James Clear's advice: eat whatever you want, but focus on not eating a sweet bread in the morning. Even start by not eating just one type of bread, conchas. This is much easier than changing everything at once. After a few weeks, add another 1%: give up chocolate, then soda. That way, little by little, you'll have given up sugar without feeling overwhelmed.

Every time you're about to fall into a bad habit, think about the graph of your life. Where is that line going? Up or down?

If a pilot taking off from Los Angeles adjusts his heading 3.5 degrees south, he will arrive in Washington DC instead of New York. - James Clear, Atomic Habits

Think about your final destination. That 1% you do today will define whether your life goes to a better or worse place.

A small change in your daily habits can take your life to a completely different destination. Making a decision that is 1% better or worse may seem insignificant in the moment, but over the course of a lifetime, these decisions determine the difference between the person you are and the person you could be. - James Clear, Atomic Habits

Don't demand too much of yourself, be patient, and accumulate your atomic habits.

Reading this book fills you with motivation to start anew with your goals, and gives you practical tools to start new habits with that 1%.

You'll be surprised at how many systems, techniques, and methods there are for starting new habits. Some may not resonate with you, but many others will fit into your life. Before you know it, you'll start putting what you've learned into practice.

Learning new things is always useful. But when it comes to learning to feel better, to improve ourselves, to be our best version and live a happy and healthy life, learning is always a gift that pays off again and again.

If you feel stuck, frustrated or uncomfortable with your habits, give this book a try to sow that powerful knowledge into your life. Try new things, try different approaches and you will be surprised at what you are capable of.

If you decide to read the book, tell us in the comments what you thought, what you felt and how it went. In the end, the purpose of this beautiful Root community is to share and move forward together towards better places.

We wish you a life full of atomic habits that guide your path to the place you deserve.