The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
byCharles Duhigg
I liked it, but I think it focuses too heavily on case studies and anecdotes. It makes sense that the book appealed to larger groups of people; it is well written and clear. For this topic, I preferred to have more scientific oriented content, with little case study support, not the other way around. An important focus of the book is getting a person first to understand the why behind what they do. The concept of a habit loop, the cue, reward and routine is a very useful mental model to investigate your habits.
Motivations to Read
I waited a couple years before I read this book event though I've been consciously working towards building better habits; I first wanted to use my intuition and awareness to find the structure and patterns of my own habits before I backed up my insights with the recommendations from this book.
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn how the power of habits can improve your life
- Discover the habits of successful companies and organizations
- Learn how to break bad habits
Notable Quotes
THE FRAMEWORK: • Identify the routine • Experiment with rewards • Isolate the cue • Have a plan - Charles Duhigg Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped. - Charles Duhigg The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it.” - Charles Duhigg Habits are powerful, but delicate. They can emerge outside our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occur without our permission, but can be reshaped by fiddling with their parts. They shape our lives far more than we realize—they are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense. - Charles Duhigg
