The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
By Charles Duhigg
Random House Publishing Group, 2014
For a lot of people, the word ‘habit’ has negative connotations and conjures images of smoking and nail biting. But habits can actually be an incredibly useful and positive force in your life if you know how to manipulate them. The Power of Habit delves into the science behind habits and explores how new habits are formed and how current habits can be reshaped. There are plenty of practical tips for how to accomplish habit building or change to unlock the potential we all hold in our minds to create healthy patterns in our lives. Filled with fascinating case studies and easy to understand explanations of enigmatic research, this is really an engrossing read with life-changing potential.
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I am fascinated by the study of habits and how powerful they are in our lives. There are so many things that we do on a daily basis as a result of habit, and if you have cultivated your habits carefully that is a great thing! The more tasks we have intentionally assigned to be controlled by habit, the more brain power we have to allocate to creativity and important decision making. The key is to be conscious of the habits as they are forming to be sure that they are healthy ones that you can trust to do their job later on. Given my previous interest in habits, The Power of Habit was right up my ally. I was sucked in from the beginning and still find myself thinking about it often, even though I read it several months ago.
I also can’t wait to read Charles Duhigg’s most recent book Smarter Faster Better, which was released in 2016 and explores the science behind productivity. I listened to a promotional interview about the book about a month ago on the Entreleadership podcast and the interest and passion that Charles Duhigg has for his work really comes across in the way he talks about it. You can find that episode here if you are interested to hear more.