55. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Rating: ☆☆☆1/2
Recommended by:
Author: Charles Duhigg
Genre: Non Fiction, Self Improvement
286 pages, published February 28, 2012
Reading Format: Audio Book
Summary
In The Power of Habit, New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg explains why habits exist and how they can be changed by seeking to understanding human nature and its potential for transformation. The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding that habits work through a Habit Loop, a neurological pattern that governs any habit. It consists of three elements: a cue, a routine, and a reward. Duhigg also looks at how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death. He show us that the right habits were essential to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Quotes
“Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”
“Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage.”
“Typically, people who exercise, start eating better and become more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.”
“Self-discipline predicted academic performance more robustly than did IQ. Self-discipline also predicted which students would improve their grades over the course of the school year, whereas IQ did not.… Self-discipline has a bigger effect on academic performance than does intellectual talent.”
“Willpower isn’t just a skill. It’s a muscle, like the muscles in your arms or legs, and it gets tired as it works harder, so there’s less power left over for other things.”
“As people strengthened their willpower muscles in one part of their lives—in the gym, or a money management program—that strength spilled over into what they ate or how hard they worked. Once willpower became stronger, it touched everything.”
“Champions don’t do extraordinary things. They do ordinary things, but they do them without thinking, too fast for the other team to react. They follow the habits they’ve learned.”
My Take
I learned a few new things The Power of Habit, a bestseller that was on the short list for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award in 2012. The concept of a “keystone” habit, an individual pattern that is unintentionally capable of triggering other positive changes, really resonated with me. Especially Duggan’s discussion of the keystone habit of exercise. In my own life, I have made exercise a daily habit and just do it as a matter of course. I feel like it has triggered other positive habits as well: sleeping enough, eating healthy and keeping stress under control. An interesting book with some useful ideas that is worth a read. As a side note, if you are interested in the subject of habits, check out Better than Before in which Gretchen Rubin (one of my gurus) offers her take on the topic.
