---
title: Atomic Habits
author: Ben
type: quotes
date: 2022-03-18T21:05:55+00:00
url: /quotes/atomic-habits/

---
&#8216;Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.&#8217;

&#8216;&#8230;the word identity was originally derived from the Latin word essentitas, which means being, and identidem, which means repeatedly. Your identity is literally your &#8220;repeated beingness.&#8221;&#8216;

&#8216;Social skills. When I walk into a party, I will introduce myself to someone I don&#8217;t know yet.&#8217;

&#8216;One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.&#8217;

&#8216;I refer to this as the difference between being in motion and taking action. The two ideas sound similar, but they&#8217;re not the same. When you&#8217;re in motion, you&#8217;re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don&#8217;t produce a result.  
Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome. If I outline twenty ideas for articles I want to write, that&#8217;s motion. If I actually sit down and write an article, that&#8217;s action. If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that&#8217;s motion. If I actually eat a healthy meal, that&#8217;s action.  
Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn&#8217;t matter how many times you go talk to the personal trainer, that motion will never get you in shape. Only the action of working out will get the result you&#8217;re looking to achieve.&#8217;

&#8216;The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.&#8217;

&#8216;After this initial period of exploration, shift your focus to the best solution you&#8217;ve found&#8212;but keep experimenting occasionally. The proper balance depends on whether you&#8217;re winning or losing. If you are currently winning, you exploit, exploit, exploit. If you are currently losing, you continue to explore, explore, explore.&#8217;

&#8216;People get so caught up in the fact that they have limits that they rarely exert the effort required to get close to them.&#8217;

&#8216;HABITS CREATE THE FOUNDATION FOR MASTERY.&#8217;