Atomic Habits: The filler book Preview

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 I was about to buy this book that I came across, Atomic Habits: An Easy And Proven Way To Build Good Habits And Break Bad Ones By : James Clear

The title of the book if obviously catchy and I was about to buy it, HOWEVER, I went through a few Amazon reviews and found out that this book is probably one of those 'filler books', with an ounce of knowledge spread exhaustively across approx 2-300 pages.

The idea of 'Atomic Habits', is simply what every Behavioural therapist or CBT practitioner already knows. Taking baby steps towards a particular goal. The idea is that a) sometimes that's all it takes b) its a precursor to a bigger change which itself can seem challenging.

Now the idea of taking baby steps is nothing new, and there are many variations on the idea as well. Some emphasize the frequency of practice eg a daily practice if one if a singer to practice that increases in intensity in order to create a new lasting habit. Then there is the idea of 'derailing' for these routines and habits and how to get back on them.

As much as I stretch the idea out, I can in no way spread it over the whole book, unless most of it is just filler material with commentary and anecdotes. Even though I have not read THIS particular book, however, I have read so many books with catchy titles and thin content, that I don't even want to give this a try. I understand the therapeutic benefit of reading such a 'filler book', but then let's not pretend its a serious piece of original work or a beacon of knowledge.

If you are looking for change strategies, one is better off with a heavy-handed textbook rather than this self-promotional self-help books

Umair Usman is a Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner, a businessperson, and a blogger. You can know more about him at www.thecognitiveconsultants.com. To book a free consultancy session, please fill the form https://tinyurl.com/y6n2vv8w

 

Location: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

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