The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Report
Charles
Duhigg is an American journalist who published The Power of Habit in order to highlight new
discoveries about how and why habits emerge in our everyday lives. In this book,
he goes over the science of habit forming, why they exist, and some key ideas
about how they can be changed. He believes that by understanding our habits, we
will unlock the door to bettering our lives, whether personally or
professionally.
Duhigg
starts off the book by discussing how habits work at the neurological level. He
tells the story of Eugene Pauly, who was taken to the hospital after memory
loss and vomiting due to viral encephalitis. Although doctors were able to
prevent the spread of the disease, there was nothing they could do about the
damage already done. Scientists studied “E.P.”’s brain and discovered that he
was able to remember things from years ago, and retained all the habits from
his younger years, but was unable to consciously form new memories about his
life and didn’t remember anything from the last 2 or 3 decades. If you were to
ask him where he lived, he couldn’t tell you. The crazy part was that, after
taking a walk with his wife every morning, he was able to make his way home out
of habit, without knowing how to get there. This caused scientists to realize
that habits formed whether you were aware of them or not. After multiple
studies, scientists determined that habits form in a loop – cue, routine,
reward – and become automatic. When paired with a craving, or an anticipation
of the reward, these habits drive our behaviors without us even thinking about
it.
The
next sections of the book discuss how we can use the information about habit
loops to change our bad habits. The interesting part is that bad habits cannot
be fully eliminated, but instead can be modified. We use our knowledge about
what triggers a habit (a cue and a craving) to change the routine but deliver
the same reward. For example, Duhigg talks about Tony Dungy and how he modified
the Buccaneers’ habits to make it so they were able to react on the football
field unthinkingly and therefore much quicker than their opponents. This control
of the habit loop caused them to become a winning team. A similar thought process
is used to help addicts get over their vices. Take AA’s strategy of identifying
one’s trigger (i.e. loneliness), changing the routine (i.e. calling a sponsor
instead of drinking), and then getting the same relief and reassurance that alcohol
would bring (but from a friendly phone call instead), which has proven to be
successful for many people. One of the most important takeaways from this
section has to do with keystone habits, which are habits that trigger a ripple effect.
For example, when you start going to the gym regularly, you tend to eat healthier
also.
The book
goes on to discuss how companies have been able to tap into people’s habits in
order to succeed. From directly changing the habits of their employees like Paul
O’Neill did with the company Alcoa to analyzing people’s habits in order to sell
them targeted products, like Target, businesses have been able to use knowledge
of people’s habits to their benefit. It’s important to note that when businesses
allow bad habits to exist in the workplace, even small ones, it can have
detrimental consequences – as shown by the problems at King’s Cross Station and
Rhode Island Hospital.
One of the
most fascinating sections of the book had to do with what are called social habits.
We are told the stories of Saddleback Church and the Montgomery Bus Boycott to
demonstrate what can happen when our social habits come into play. It’s
incredible to think that something that we consider so common – peer pressure –
has the power to fuel widespread movements when imposed by certain people just
because of the way that it influences our social habits.
The book
finishes by considering how much free will we really have when we consider how far
we succumb to our habits. The stories of Brian Thomas and Angie Bachmann were
interesting to think about. At what point do our habits truly take over our
behavior? Why do we have an instinct to forgive certain habits, but condemn
people for others? The afterword describes that the book began as an
explanation of research surrounding habits, but ended up being a lesson in
giving ourselves the power to control our own lives. By making small changes in
their daily routine, or adjustments in the way we choose to view things, we are
able to become the best version of ourselves.
Critique
Overall, I thought The Power of Habit was an
incredible read. While I have always been aware of habits that I have, whether good
or bad, it never really occurred to me what was going on inside my brain. This
book helped me realize that if I am able to create good habits regarding my
school and health, it will become much easier for me to be successful, as that
productive behavior will become automatic. I wasn’t aware of it until now, but
I already utilize some of the strategies talked about in the book. For example,
whenever I start brewing a pot of coffee after dropping my kids at school, I sit
down and start doing my schoolwork for the day. If I skip making a pot of coffee,
I tend to take a lot longer to get started with anything productive, even if I
don’t need the caffeine. The coffee triggers my habit of studying
automatically, so I don’t have to consciously make an effort to be productive.
I plan to make myself more aware of my habits by choosing my desired reward and
setting a clear and repetitive path to achieve it. This will also be very
useful to me once I settle into a career as I can structure my habits to give
myself the best work-life balance possible.
