Atomic Habits: Why Every Athlete Should Read It (and Use It)
Tiny Changes Supercharged My Performance
I recently read the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. First of all, this is not an advert or paid promotion, I just found it a super interesting read and want to share my thoughts on it. I wouldn’t say it was a transformational book for me, because I had actually already self-imposed many of the behaviour changes the author was advocating for, in pursuit of higher sporting performance. What I can say about the book is that I completely agree with the theories presented, and I believe that they directly contribute to performance improvement.
And if there’s one thing you learn as an elite athlete or as a high-performing individual, it’s that the smallest habits can have the biggest impact.
1. Cue, Craving, Response, Reward: The 4 Laws of Behaviour Change
Clear’s core theory breaks down how habits form using four simple steps: cue, craving, response, and reward. I’ve seen it in action—both in and out of the pool—but one story really brings it to life.
December 2022. I had a traumatic knee injury. A split-second moment, that altered the trajectory of my career. The impact was massive. The cue was the injury itself. The craving was Paris 2024 which was just 18 months away. My problem… How on earth was I going to recover in time to qualify?
The response had to be a full-scale high-level commitment to recovery. From nutrition to rest, and sticking religiously to physio exercises (as boring as they were), I had no choice but to be diligent and trust the process. The reward for that would be getting the knee brace off on time, getting back in the water as soon as possible, and competing again just five months later.
Without that strict commitment to the response, I wouldn’t have made it. Paris would’ve remained a dream and a missed opportunity.
🔑 Key takeaways:
A clear goal (like Paris 2024) turns a problem into a challenge worth solving.
Painful setbacks should be a cue for positive change.
The biggest rewards come from the smallest, most consistent actions.
2. Habit Stacking: The Secret to Consistent Excellence
Reading this theory made me smile quietly because I was doing it for years without knowing it had a name. Habit stacking is about linking new behaviours to existing routines, making them almost automatic.
My best examples:
I stacked showering on my inevitable return home. As soon as I walked in the door, I had to shower immediately. If instead I sat down on the sofa, ate a snack, or opened my laptop, time would fly away and that shower just wouldn’t happen.
I stacked recovery on the inevitable end of my training session. If I didn’t stretch down right after getting out of the pool, it wasn’t happening.
I stacked vitamins within my morning routine. Vitamin D was key, among others, so I’d always take them with my morning orange juice, because I kept the vitamins right next to the glass I always used.
These were tiny actions, but they kept me consistent. And in elite sport, consistency is everything.
🔑 Key takeaways:
Want a new habit to stick? Attach it to an existing one.
Automate positive behaviours so they don’t rely on motivation.
Small, consistent actions beat big, occasional efforts.
3. The Goldilocks Zone: Mastering Motivation with Just-Right Challenges
Clear calls it the Goldilocks Zone—where maximum motivation happens because the challenge is just right. Not too easy. Not too hard. Just… perfect.
For me, that was my dive list. After Rio 2016, I decided it was time to raise the difficulty. New dives meant years of struggle. One dive, reverse three and a half, took me from 2014 to 2021 to truly master. That’s seven years of frustration, failed attempts, and feeling like I was wasting my time and missing opportunities.
But the thrill of finally nailing those tough dives was unreal. Without them, I’d have become complacent. And without the constant pursuit of better, I don’t think I’d have lasted in the sport as long as I did.
🔑 Key takeaways:
Set challenges that are tough enough to stretch you but not so hard they break you.
Mistakes are part of the process. Learn from them, don’t fear them.
To maintain passion, keep the challenge alive.
Conclusion: Small Habits, Big Wins
Atomic Habits didn’t change my mindset—it explained it. I didn’t realise how much I was already using these principles to maximise my performance. And that’s the beauty of the book. It’s not about reinventing yourself—it’s about refining what you’re already doing.
Self-belief doesn’t just mean trusting you can do the big things. It means trusting that the tiny, daily decisions—the habit of stretching, the discipline of nutrition, the focus on recovery—are building something incredible.
🗣 Over to you…
Have you read Atomic Habits?
What’s one small habit that’s changed your performance, in sport or life?
👇 I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment, share this with a fellow high performer, and tell me what topic you'd like me to tackle next.