The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

“The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can’t extinguish bad a habit, you can only change it.” 

This is such a well-researched read. Insights that will be sure to inspire. Charles Duhigg is an award winning reporter for the New York Times and author of Smarter Faster Better, a book about productivity which now I must also read.

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Duhigg has helped me understand habits. Why they exist and how I can go about changing them. What’s more is that in understanding habits I not only get insight into my behaviours but also why others behave in certain way. This is good for leadership, influence, and business.

If you want to know why you are not getting the desired results in what you pursue understanding behaviours and habits may give you some great clues.

He explains that habits are the brains way of conserving energy. When we don’t have to consciously think about everything we repeatedly do and it just comes habitual we save energy – beneficial for more important or critical situations. This is the instinctual survival benefits we’ve evolved with.

However, while there are many good things we do daily that affect our lives in positive ways there are also those habits that perhaps we don’t like or that are not conducive to bringing in the results we wish for. This relates to the life we desire to live or the effectiveness of our business, occupation or vocational work we pursue.

Brushing my teeth is easy, an activity that is healthy and one that requires very little effort. As an ex-smoker, a very damaging behaviour and addiction, it was easy to unconsciously puff down those things to without much energy or thought. Changing habits is not so easy. Figure out that formula and you win.

I believe anything we learn that assists to enhance our lives is priceless. This book will do that. Our behaviours create major neural paths in our brains that are very hard to remove. Actually, impossible to move. The good news is we can build new ones.

Just because there is a highway the exists it doesn’t mean you can’t create another path. Sure it will take some work, perhaps it won’t be as easy or as comfortable as what you know and are familiar with yet in time you can create super highways that will make old habits forgotten and unused.

At the end he describes some practical advice on how one may approach habit change. Duhigg explains that his purpose of this book wasn’t to give a clear formula to habit change but rather insight as to why they exist. Because habits are so vast in shape, size and intensity one rule cannot be applied to all therefore this book is more a guide than formula.

His research presents habits of drug addicts, gamblers, murders to stories about how Hey Ya, a song by the group Outcast, became popular. Charles leaves no stones unturned. There is greatness to come from this book. Know the habits that are taking you towards greatness and change those habits that are not. Gold!

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If this book sounds of interest you can purchase The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business here.

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Peace, passion and purpose…

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