written by Corey L. Stokes
This is the second time that I’ve read this book. The truth of the matter is, I hadn’t remembered that I read it the first time. But, two chapters in It dawned on me, 2 years ago I borrowed it from the library. “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg, although I didn’t quite remembered how I felt about it, I remember that the author made some interesting observations. So I continued to read it, for the second time.
Mr. Duhigg, in this book, has answered the question why we do things they way we do them. The simple answer is, habit. Some habits work for us and help us to succeed. While other habits put us on a path that we really don’t want to be on. Habit is why, when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is brush your teeth? Or when you sit down for a movie, you feel the sudden craving for popcorn. Your action triggers a cue, that sets your brain on a path where it has to carry out a specific function. M.r. Duhigg called it the Habit loop. In explaining how habits work, why they are formed and how we can change them, Duhigg, tells the stories of how people, once they have recognized their own habit cues, created new responses to foster a life of success and happiness.
Even though, It took me two times to read this book. It is a book that I wold recommend that anyone read. Especially if you know you have some bad habits you want to changes. This books does not give you specifics on what to do to create habits, but it does teach you how t recognize you triggers so you can intercede and create new responses.
After my reading, I added a change to my morning routine. To try to change a habit. I’d wanted to start exercising more, but when I got up in the morning, I would get out of bed, shower, shave brush my teeth, and get dressed. The next thing I knew, it was I was dressed for work. The change that I added was to set my workout clothes on top of my work clothes. Now when I wake up I get out of bed, to see my workout clothes, So I put those on, brush my teeth, and go for a run or go to the gym. Eventually It got to the point that I don’t even think about it anymore, My first thought in the morning is to grab my workout clothes and check to see how many miles I’m running that day. Proving the authors point that if you can recognize your triggers, you can change your responses.
Even though, this book doesn’t tell you how to create or change a habit. It does answer the question of why and how habits have power over us. It also gives stories on how to use your habits to your advantage. By changing one thing in your routine, it will shake things up enough in your old habits, in order for you to create new responses to old cues.
If you have ever wanted to stop doing something that you habitually do, this book will put you on the right track.
Resources
- Charles Duhigg website – http://charlesduhigg.com
- More about Charles – Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter at the New York Times and author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and spent over 90 weeks on New York Times’ best seller lists.
- To purchase this book visit the “Store” section of this blog
The Power of Habit : Why we do what we do in life and business
Corey Stokes 