{"id":1572,"date":"2026-01-28T11:58:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/?p=1572"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:58:43","slug":"igniting-success-with-atomic-habits-why-small-changes-make-a-big-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/28\/igniting-success-with-atomic-habits-why-small-changes-make-a-big-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Igniting Success with &#8220;Atomic Habits&#8221;: Why Small Changes Make a  Big Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1575\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1575\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1575 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-300x189.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" data-size=\"1800x1132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-1024x644.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-768x483.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-1536x966.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01-1200x755.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atomic-habits_gallery_hi-res_01.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo courtesy of jamesclear.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #488ba6;\">James Clear\u2019s book <i>Atomic Habits<\/i> centers on the idea that lasting change happens through tiny improvements in our habits over time rather than major revamps in an effort to achieve a goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Without devoting time to changing underlying habits, failure is inevitable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span style=\"color: #658c64;\"><b>The Layers to Changing Your Habits<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Clear identifies three layers involved in making behavioral changes.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li class=\"p6\">Outer layer of Outcomes <span class=\"s2\" style=\"color: #658c64;\">(goal layer) <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p6\">Middle layer of Processes <span class=\"s2\" style=\"color: #658c64;\">(habits layer)<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p6\">Inner layer of Identity<span class=\"s2\" style=\"color: #658c64;\"> (beliefs layer)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p5\">It\u2019s important to work from the inner layer out. Rather than making the goal the sole focus, we should identify the type of person we want to be and the habits necessary for getting us closer to that goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">As we demonstrate habits consistent with our desired identity, we begin to prove to ourselves that we can be the person we want to be. Clear also suggests we must envision ourselves as who we aspire to be. He shares this example to convey that point: If someone who wants to quit smoking is offered a cigarette, rather than replying with, \u201cNo thank you, I\u2019m trying to quit,\u201d they should respond with \u201cNo thank you, I\u2019m not a smoker,\u201d to reframe their self-perception.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p7\"><span style=\"color: #658c64;\"><b>Key Takeaways: <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p6\">Whenever you act in a way that aligns with your desired identity, you are becoming that identity.<\/li>\n<li class=\"p6\">Incrementally adopting better habits will allow goal accomplishment to happen naturally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p6\">Stay tuned for the next article in this series: Make It Obvious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James Clear\u2019s book Atomic Habits centers on the idea that lasting change happens through tiny improvements in our habits over time rather than major revamps in an effort to achieve a goal. Without devoting time to changing underlying habits, failure is inevitable. The Layers to Changing Your Habits Clear identifies three layers involved in making&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1572"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1576,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572\/revisions\/1576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadoutdoorproducts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}