Atomic Habits opens with Clear’s discovery of the power of small changes. In his sophomore year of high school, Clear was hit in the face with a baseball bat, breaking his nose, fracturing his skull, and shattering his eye sockets. After his recovery, Clear struggled to return to his peak baseball performance. Despite many setbacks, he stuck with baseball and slowly improved. Eventually, Clear joined the baseball team at Denison University.

At Denison, Clear established good habits like keeping his room clean, going to sleep early, and studying. After his traumatic health experience in high school, habits allowed Clear to regain a sense of control over his life. Over the course of his degree, he achieved good grades and continued to improve as a baseball player. Upon graduation, he was selected as the top male athlete at Denison University and was named to the EPSN Academic All-America Team. Clear’s takeaway from his experiences is not that he is exceptional, but rather that he fulfilled his potential. Atomic Habits is designed to help other people fulfill their potential by building good habits.