The Power Of Habit Summary and Review Charles Duhigg

The Power Of Habit Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: The Power Of Habit helps you understand why habits are at the core of everything you do, how you can change them, and what impact that will have on your life, your business and society.

Favorite quote from the author:-

** If you enjoy this book summary, be sure to check my reviews on other such best-selling, motivational and inspiring books from around the globe! Click here 👉 : https://novakidhs.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews-to-keep-you-motivated.html

You can’t possibly call yourself a habit junkie and not know this book. It’s THE BOOK about habits. Published in 2012 by Pulitzer-prize winning author Charles Duhigg, this gem has spent over 120 weeks on the various New York Times bestseller lists.

Here are your 3 must-takeaways:

1. Habits work in 3-step loops: cue, routine, reward.
2. You can change your habits by substituting just one part of the loop, the routine.
3. Willpower is the most important habit, and you can strengthen it over time with 3 things.

Ready to science the heck out of your habits? Let’s go!

The Power of Habit Summary

Lesson 1: Habits work in 3-step loops: cue, routine, reward.

Roughly 40% of what you do happens on autopilot.

Habits are your brain’s way of saving energy, so given you spend around 6 of your 16 waking hours doing things you’re not aware of, it might be worth understanding what happens here. Duhigg discovered that at the root of all habits, like drinking your coffee every morning, lies a simple 3-part loop.

The cue is what triggers you to do the habit, for example sitting down at your kitchen table to have breakfast every morning at 7 AM.

The routine is the behavior you then automatically engage in, which, for drinking coffee, might be to go over to your coffeemaker, turn it on, and press the “large cup” button.

Lastly, you’ll receive a reward for completing the routine, such as the rich smell of your coffee, it’s hearty taste and getting to watch the steam rise from the cup as it sits on your kitchen table in the sunlight.

Your brain’s activity only spikes twice during this loop. At the beginning, to figure out which habit to engage in, and at the end, when the link between cue and routine is reinforced.

Wait, reinforced?

Aha!

That’s how habits are built and the stronger this link gets, the harder it becomes to change them. But you can still do it.

Lesson 2: You can change your habits by substituting just one part of the loop, the routine.

Naturally, the more often you reinforce a habit, the more embedded in your brain it gets.

In case of the coffee, you might crave it the second you sit down at your kitchen table, and when you can’t have it that day, because the machine broke, you’ll probably get very grumpy and buy one later at work.

The trick to changing a habit then, is to switch the routine, and leave everything else in tact.

Duhigg calls this the golden rule.

If you’re trying to get off caffeine, the tweak is incredibly simple: switch to decaf.

You’ll still have the entire experience from A to Z, but instead of pressing a button you’re now pouring hot water over decaf coffee powder, and voilà, you won’t miss caffeine for even a single day.

Lesson 3: Your most important habit is willpower, and you can strengthen it over time in 3 ways.

Not all habits are created equally and Duhigg says willpower is by far one of the most important ones, as it helps us do better in all aspects of life.

Having been to the moon and back in terms of willpower research, I don’t want to tell you to eat right, sleep enough and exercise regularly.

Instead, here are 3 uncommon ways in which you can grow your total willpower capacity over time:

1. Do something that requires a lot of discipline. For example a tough wake-up regimen or strict diet will make you constantly practice delaying gratification and thus give you more willpower to exert throughout your day.
2. Plan ahead for worst-case scenarios. Even just thinking about your boss yelling at you before it ever happens will help you not loose your cool when it does.
3. Preserve your autonomy. Yesterday I learned that autonomy was a major part of living a passionate life. Today I learned that if you take it away, your willpower also goes down the drain. When you’re assigned tasks by someone else, which you must do, your willpower muscle tires much quicker.

Focus on improving these important, big aspects of your life over minor hacks, and you’ll develop great self-discipline in the long run!​

The Power of Habit Review

Duhigg has managed to combine the scientific research with his own ideas and personal experiences in such a way that the book tells many extremely compelling stories, while teaching you everything you need to know about habits. If I could have you read only one book this year, this would be it!

** If you enjoyed this book summary, be sure to check my reviews on other such best-selling, motivational and inspiring books from around the globe! Click here 👉 : https://novakidhs.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews-to-keep-you-motivated.html

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