The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
General Overview:
Habits are a part of everyone’s
lives, and not everyone understands them completely. Charles Duhigg, author of “The
Power of Habit,” helps us understand why habits exist, their reasoning, and how
they can be changed. Throughout the book, it provides information, scientific
discoveries, and real-life examples and routines, as well as their outcomes. The
book is divided into three parts: the impact of habits on habits on one’s
personal life, within society, and within organizations. It also contains
information on techniques that can help us understand our habits better and how
we can alter them.
Within the book, Duhigg explains and
helps us understand habits. He explains that they work in three-step loops:
cue, routine, and reward. He explains that the cue is what triggers you to do a
habit. The routine is the behavior you engage in, following the cue. Finally,
the reward is what you receive after completion of the routine. About 40% of
the time, you do not realize you are completing habits – your body is in
autopilot. In order for us to understand our habits and why we do what we do,
we need to observe the cues and rewards. This being said, when and if we do, we
can then change the routines making them easier to control.
Favorite Part:
Personally,
I really enjoyed the book as a whole, and would recommend it. It was an easy
read, and made me think. That is something I truly appreciate. Although I
enjoyed many parts of the book, and the narratives included within, there was
one quote that stuck with me throughout. Charles Duhigg states, “The difference
between who you are and who you want to be is what you do” (Duhigg, 2012). This
quote made me realize that you have the power to change anything in your life,
if you set your mind to it. No matter what happens, how many setbacks you may
encounter, etc., you still have the power to change who you are, in order to
become what you want to be. Duhigg also speaks on behalf of willpower and the
habit behind it. Willpower is a form of self-control, either pushing you to do
something, or pushing you to restrain impulses. Within the book, there is a
chapter on Starbucks. It talks about the benefits of being an employee there,
what the corporation has to offer, and so forth. It then talks about a troubled
young man, who got hired to work in one of the stores. He grew up in a broken
home, and faced personal struggles such as temper, self-discipline, etc. Starbucks
provided training sessions, in which they provided tips and helpful information
for particular situations. In the end, it bettered the young man’s
self-control, temper, and taught him better ways of handling things. Dealing
with a difficult customer can be triggering, but it takes a lot to stay in
control and not lash out. This is a perfect example of willpower.
Relation to Class:
As
mentioned in the lecture slides, impulsivity, willpower, and self-control
usually come hand-in-hand. Impulsivity is making decisions on impulse, or
without any thought behind the decision. While self-control is not an issue of willpower,
it is an issue of conflicting outcomes. Like I mentioned in the section labeled
my favorite part, willpower is a form of self-control, either pushing you to do
something, or pushing you to restrain impulses. Making impulsive decisions,
maintaining self-control and self-management, and having a strong sense of
willpower are all things dealt with on the daily. They are very important
aspects of life, and sometimes people forget that.
Creative:
For this
particular section, I found a few websites which can help:
-Willpower
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/good-thinking/201306/how-boost-your-willpower
: This website provides tips on how one can strengthen their willpower.
-
http://www.willpowered.co/learn/strengthen-your-willpower
: This website provides 10 simple exercises that will strengthen your
willpower.
Video:
-This video is a ted talk called “The Science of Willpower:
Kelly McGonigal.” She is a Stanford psychologist, and talks about the biggest
myths of willpower and how rethinking self-control can help one reach goals and
make difficult changes.
Extension:
I
firmly believe this book has impacted my life tremendously. As a college
student, I deal with the struggles of procrastination, being too lazy to eat
right and workout, and not getting enough sleep. Things like that really affect
my life and my ability to complete tasks to the best of my ability. But now
knowing what I know about habits, and how they can be changed by simply
changing the routine, I hope to put this in action. If I start from the
beginning of the school year, and create healthy and efficient patterns in my
life, I can and will see improvements not only within my academic work, but in
my mental health. 
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