It’s been a while since I posted about Atomic Habits by James Clear. Amid house shopping, an insane new work schedule and a number of other unexpected surprises, my reading routine went on the back burner. Atomic Habits is still sitting on my coffee table partially finished. However, for what feels like the first time in a month, I finally found a moment to sit down and catch by breath. Here are my favorite bits from chapter 7 of Atomic Habits.

• “Disciplined people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control.”
• “It’s easier to practice self-restraint when you don’t have to use it very often.” 
• “Bad habits are autocatalytic: the process feeds itself.”
• “You can break a habit, but you’re unlikely to forget it.”
• “Self-control is a short term strategy.”
• “It’s easier to avoid temptation than to resist it.”

Of course, sometimes this all feels far easier said than done but that doesn’t make it any less true. I don’t think there’s a single person in my life who hasn’t experienced the intense frustration of mustering enough energy to face the new day at some point. It’s exhausting and does seem to demand a heroic effort far too often. I want to be a disciplined person, one with enough self-control to avoid unproductive situations instead of simply muscling through them.