CST 300 - Extra Credit Book Report/Critique

 

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.