Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
If you are a nerd for understanding how your brain works and how to hack it for a healthier life then you will be looking forward to turning every single page.
I was enthralled through every bit of narrative, got to feel up close and personal with the people in the stories and enjoyed the structure of the book.
The first part is introducing you to the neuroscience behind habits through fascinating case studies. You get to understand how you as an individual shape your habits, the impact it has on your life and how you can change them. Spoiler alert it sounds easy in theory but being such complex creatures it actually can be challenging in practice. Keep on reading to get more details on this.
The second section of the book delves into keystones habits (which I will explain later) and how large organisations and high performers use them for success. It approaches how leaders use crisis to reframe habits (with stories including our good old London Underground) and you will get to see how companies use your data to create and target powerful advertising.
The third part contains two exciting chapters that will take you back to the day Rosa Parks started a whole new path to civil rights, using the impact of habits weaved through communities and social circles and how it tied to the rise of ML King Jr. Finally the last chapter raises the ethical question of how much are we in control of our freewill and when we actually lose it.
The book kept me wanting more, there definitely would be space for more stories to be read approaching the subject.
On and all I have so many good takeaways that I want to share with you, especially how you can design healthier habits for yourself. To keep this easy to read I have made a bullet point list and will keep the details for you to go read in the book:
The way you shape your habits will programme you for automatic behaviours. This will happen even if you have cognitive dysfunctions.
The habit loop is easy to identify. It starts with a cue that triggers a routine in order to provide a reward. To keep it simple, if you want to reframe your habits you have to identify the cue and reward and change the routine. However it sounds a lot simpler in theory but it is very challenging in practice. What I found fascinating is that the more frequent the habit becomes, the reactions from the rewards will move closer to the reactions of the cue. That means that the moment the cue triggers the routine your brain is already reacting as if it has been rewarded. A ping on your phone? Oooh a notification of someone validating us somewhere. The chocolate bar is screaming at you at the office when you are making yourself a cup of coffee... Sounds too familiar right? It sheds a light on how we do not even realise how we become addicted to things we see as harmless, however the moment you decide to change it, the struggle will be real because you will be craving the reward every time.
Some habits called keystone habits are considered to be more fundamental and will be more likely to foster a snowball effect of other habits. Keystone habits include examples such as keeping a food journal which will help you make better choices if you want to look after a healthier diet, or geting going to the gym will automatically get you to smoke less, make healthier food choices and so on… Depending on what your goals are, finding your keystone habit is essential to stay on track as they will make you stick more to your new routine than other habits.
You better learn and get to understand your patterns as large companies know exactly how to do that and how to lure you into spending your money with them. Most of them have incredible systems in place working with algorithms to figure out if you are pregnant even without telling them.
Communities are very powerful for getting habits to grow in individuals. People will follow what the others are doing quite easily out of FOMO and/or support.
It is a very fine line to determine how responsible you are of your freewill. The more you know about yourself and realise the impact of your habits on your life and other peoples’, the more power you will have to change and be the human you want to be.
This book is so empowering, it really makes you want to harness your life differently and is a must read for those looking to improve it. Highly recommend.
