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A Review: The Power of Habit By Charles Duhigg
Good morning and thank you for reading my 7th review! I can’t thank you enough for the support. Bring the energy today kids, you deserve it!
Habits are vogue in the self-help business.
We used to only worry about tangible temptations like alcohol, gambling, cheeseburgers, and smoking; now, we must balance on the technology tightrope for the rest of our lives or doom ourselves to endless Netflix binges and mindless scrolling.
So, we turn to books like the Power of Habit for answers: How can I eliminate bad habits in exchange for good ones? In other words, replacing cake with salad.
According to NY Times Reporter and the author of the Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg, quick fixes don't exist, neither does a "one size fits all" antidote; He doesn't bother elaborating on practical solutions. Instead, the book focuses on the neurology of habits: How they're formed, how they work, and their purpose.
When you understand the facts, then can you retrace your steps and distort them at your leisure.
What Are Habits?
A habit is a choice that we made at one point (our diet, jogging, or TV time)—an action we’ve been doing for so long that we (sometimes) forget why we do them.
MIT researchers have found the part of the brain responsible for habit formation called the Basal Ganglia. Moreover, a simple process generates activity here that can be observed in human behavior.
The Habit Loop
Cue: A sensation that activates a craving. A cue can be anything: an emotional state, a time of the day, seeing someone you know, a sound, or a smell.
Routine: The habit itself.
Reward: The relief or pleasure you receive from acting upon the routine.
Take our iPhone, for example:
1.) Your phone vibrates in your pocket (the cue).
2.) Your brain starts anticipating either information or a distraction. You take your phone out of your pocket (routine).
3.) You receive a brief escape from whatever you’re doing (reward).
How Can I Break A Habit?
Charles Duhigg admits that habit-breaking is neither simple nor pure. Most people can’t break a habit cold turkey, but must replace a bad habit with a good one.
The Golden Rule of Habit Change: Says that the most effective way to shift a habit is to diagnose and retain the old cue and reward and try to change only the routine.
3 Step Process of the Golden Rule of Habit Change
1.) Identify the routine
2.) Use your same reward
3.) Change the routine.
Some habits will be easier to change than others. Charles Duhigg addresses the dragon of bad habits: alcoholism. The golden rule is at the heart of AA, but it’s far from the only practice. In many cases, you must believe in a higher purpose and you must have the support of a loving community.
How to Make New Habits
Our habits appear irresistible because they feed off the power of neurological cravings. These cravings happen so gradually that we aren’t even aware they exist.
Charles points to several case studies like nail bitters who have been doing it for so long that can’t remember what the cravings are or what triggers them.
The key to creating new habits is creating your own habit loop: a cue, a routine, and a reward along with a craving that drives the loop.
I’ve started doing yoga every morning. A great case study on habit formation because I suck, and I’m very inflexible – I couldn’t touch my toes till senior year of high school. I’ve been doing 20-minute classes every day for the last month, and I’m starting to enjoy it! That’s right, I’m starting to crave morning sun sals, bite me.
Here’s what I do:
1.) Layout my yoga mat at night. (Cue)
2.) Wake up head straight to the mat for the Peloton Class. (routine)
3.) A coffee and the feeling of an awake body at the end of the workout (reward)
Small Wins
I’m fascinated by this subject and Charles does an excellent job explaining the power of small wins in our daily lives.
Small wins are simple exercises that provide a sense of accomplishment, a keystone habit that spills over and influences other areas of your life.
The most well-known example of small wins in action comes from general McRaven, an American admiral who wrote the book “Make Your Bed.” The premise of his book is simple: everyone should cultivate the discipline to make their bed each morning - that’s it.
Now, many people think him an old crock for such nonsense, but there’s science behind a small daily action like airing out your sheets in the morning.
“A huge body of research has shown that small wins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves.”
Small wins are significant because they provide a sense of accomplishment. It’s difficult to solely focus on big goals like “I will read one book this month” because we feel like we’ll never get there. Small wins keep us going and teach your brain to incorporate good habits in other areas.
“Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win.”
Final Thought
From the reviews I've read and judging by what I've highlighted and notes I’ve jotted, I think you will receive the most value from part one. This covers habits on an individual level and the keystone habits that cultivate real change.
But I would encourage you to read the whole book. Charles is not a scientist or psychologist; he's a journalist with a talent for telling stories. He talks about the habits within organizations and society. He draws examples from Tony Dungy's NFL coaching career, the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, and how Rosa Parks sparked the civil rights movement. All fresh takes on familiar stories that I found captivating and inspiring.
Thank you for reading the whole damn thing! Expect a new review each Friday along with other posts in between. Please like, comment, subscribe and follow the Instagram account @yoprolibrary