If I have to provide an unsolicited recommendation for a self-help book, it will be Atomic Habits. Though the book has no entertainment value, is very pedantic and preachy, it is highly actionable. There are certain things in this book around habit formation that you cannot argue with.
For example, let us say you want to learn meditation. The book advocates creating daily routine of setting aside two minutes for meditation practice at predefined time and location. If you are serious about something, it’s hard to reason with 2 minutes commitment. There also several examples how a system and the environment play a bigger role in our success than talent and inspiration.
Polgar sisters is an interesting case study. It’s about Hungarian parents in the 1960s raising three daughters to be world chess champions. All the three became world champions and the youngest became the greatest female chess player of all times. Their story of creating an environment at home specifically designed to develop their children into competitive chess players is an interesting read.
There are more interesting examples. The idea of implanting nuclear cheat codes in the chest of the President’s bodyguard is another one. During the height of the cold war, there was a real possibility of the United States President using nuclear weapons. If the nuclear code is implanted in the chest of his bodyguard, the President is first forced to kill an innocent person before activating the code to kill millions of other innocent people. It’s an interesting concept to theorise how immediate pain discourages impulsive decision-making and temptation.
This is the second time I am reading this book. The first time was out of curiosity feeding my appetite for self-help porn. This time, I read with an intent to put things into action.
The book is neither fun to read or filled with eye opening insights. However, approach and methodology suggested by James Clear is very pragmatic and effective. Ignore it at your own peril.
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