Why We Love It:

We’ve all known the frustration of being unable to change our habits. Many people are familiar with the struggle to quit smoking, change their diet, or exercise more. They may also struggle with destructive or unproductive habits in their work lives and relationships. But every so often, you meet someone who seems to have done the impossible – overnight, they picked up and mastered a new hobby, or transformed themselves from an office wallflower to a team leader. How did they do it? They consciously took the reins of their lives. They formed new habits and changed the old ones.

The science of habit is simple: do something enough, and it becomes a habit. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg explores how deeply ingrained and subconscious these habits become by relating research on memory loss, linking the rituals of habit with a pattern of cue, routine, and reward. For example, a patient with memory loss may not be able to describe how to make a sandwich. But when they get hungry (the cue), they may automatically go to their kitchen to assemble bread, peanut butter, and jelly (the routine) to address their hunger (the reward).

Duhigg takes this simple science and leverages it to guide readers into changing our habits to reap rewards in life and business. To change a habit, we need to identify the cue and the reward. “Why am I doing this, and what am I getting out of it?” Then we change the routine associated with the cue and reward! Always go to the kitchen to grab a sweet or salty snack when you turn on the TV? Prepare a few healthy snacks, like bags of popcorn or veggies and dip, and put them front-and-center in your fridge or pantry. Your cue (turning on the TV) and reward (a delicious snack) will remain the same, but you’ll create a healthier habit over time.

The author reiterates the power of habit to improve not just individuals, but the performance of organizations and communities. With examples ranging from sports and the Civil Rights Movement to multinational corporations, the Duhigg builds a case for harnessing the transformational power of habit in every aspect of our lives. Whether you’re just trying to upgrade your life, or you have big plans to shift the culture of your family or corporate team, The Power of Habit deserves a space on your shelf

Favorite Quotes:

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

“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.” – Charles Duhigg

“Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.” – Charles Duhigg

Book Jacket Summary:

In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives. [Random House]