A combined minimum of over 29 million copies of three books were sold within the last few years. All related to habits. Sold on behalf of author James Clear, Atomic Habits; Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg; and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

And all three authors agree on one very liberating message: that our habits are not a character flaw. We’re not “lazy,” “weak,” or “undisciplined.”

We’re human. And we’re wired to respond to cues, repetition, reward, and convenience.

If the habit keeps happening, it’s not because we’re bad. It’s because the system around us is working exactly as designed. Now that’s a revelation!

Clear, Fogg, and Duhigg all treat “habit change” like engineering, not inspiration.

They see habits as a system, not a mood.

Duhigg explains habits as mechanics… i.e. cue, plus routine, equals reward. He explains how habits run on patterns, especially when life gets stressful and we go on autopilot.

Fogg brings in behavioral science. He says if something is too hard, we won’t do it. So… make it tiny, make it easy, and celebrate immediately so our brains want to repeat it.

And finally, Clear says make it actionable and scalable. Small actions, plus the right environment, plus repetition will change us and our lives over time.

They are three different voices, yet with the same core message: stop trying to “be strong.” Start trying to be strategic in our behavior!

They all preach “small, consistent, repeatable.”

They agree that most of us fail because we attempt a full personality renovation by the end of the week.

But our brain loves predictable; even when predictable is unhealthy. Why is that? Because predictable makes us feel safe.

When we try to go from zero to a hundred in a short period of time, our nervous system is like: “What’s wrong with you?”

That’s why the tiny approach works. It sneaks up on our resistance! It works with our nervous system instead of starting a civil war with it.

All three authors favor “friction” and “environment” over willpower.

They believe our environment is either voting for our new habits or our old ones.

Here’s the deal. If we want to stop doing something? Add friction.

• If we want to start doing something? Remove friction.
• If our bad habit is easy, visible, automatic, and rewarding…it wins.
• If our good habit is inconvenient, confusing, and delayed…it loses.

We must learn to think rewards and repetition. Our brains love “payoff.”

Our brain doesn’t repeat what’s right. Our brain repeats what’s rewarding to it.

Duhigg highlights how rewards lock the loop.
Fogg teaches us to celebrate as the shortcut to making the new habit stick.
And Clear talks about making habits satisfying so we’ll come back tomorrow.

Again, different language, but the same truth. We don’t rise to our intentions.

We repeat what feels good or relieves our discomfort.

The podcast, The Mindset Mentor with Rob Dial, created the light bulb moment for me. Dial’s take on habits is the glue that helped me tie these authors together.

Dail speaks of the Japanese word “kaizen.” It’s the shared method of tiny upgrades, done consistently. And “ikigai,” also a Japanese word, is the missing purpose or fuel or why it matters to do this habit change in the first place.

The truth is, while small habits are easier to do, we still need a good reason to keep showing up when it’s boring. The “why” gives meaning to our tiny actions.

The “why” turns “I guess I should…” into “This is who I’m becoming.”

My bottom line?

All three books, according to Rob Dial’s framing are basically giving us the same recipe:

1. Identify the pattern - cue, craving, routine, reward.
2. Start embarrassingly small - tiny enough to feel safe.
3. Make it easier than the old habit to reduce the friction.
4. Reward it immediately which teaches the brain “we do this now.”
5. Repeat until it becomes our new identity - not motivation but muscle memory.
6. Anchor it to a purpose (ikigai). Why are we improving?

It “finally clicked” for me. The message isn’t “try harder.” It’s build smarter, easy systems to follow for consistent, ever ending improvement!

Alright…I know what you’re thinking.

Yes, I really did read those 3 books. Just not all at the same time!

Rob Dial’s podcast just helped me connect the dots.

Read any or all three books for yourself. Maybe listen to Rob Dial’s The Mindset podcast.

And you’ll come to the same conclusion as me…that small, teeny, tiny change is not weak. Small is how change sneaks in and makes a big difference.

We must build systems to support us in good habit development to achieve our goals.

Now, get going with your habit change by stacking those teeny, tiny, atomic changes!