The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
This powerful book helps you understand how habits are formed and why people and companies often struggle with change. Charles Duhigg researched our brains and how (and where) habits form in them. The result is striking. If you want to implement change, you shouldn’t focus on the change itself. Rather, you should focus on understanding how habits are formed. If you want to get fit, you want to get into the habit of fitness. This means you need to understand how habits work in order to successfully create one. It’s the reason why — for example — people who are trying to lose weight often fall back into old….habits, exactly! The habit of not eating healthy.
Key Takeaways
🔬 Habits need to be studied and understood in order to fully work. Also, you need to understand the negative habits that prevent you from developing te good habits. In the fitness example, it’s good to understand how habits work to create the habit of exercising. But also, to understand how the habit of eating unhealthy often is created.
🏦 Organizations work the same as humans. They create habits within their processes, culture, and people. If organizations want to grow long-term, it’s important to understand the habits behind both the current behavior as well as the desired habit that leads to growth.
🏆 Habits are made from cues, routines, and rewards. The cue is what sets off the habit. The routine is executing on the habit and the reward is the result of executing. For example (to stick to fitness), a cue for bad eating could be watching a certain show which you enjoy with popcorn. The routine is starting the show and getting the popcorn and the reward is a quick and short dopamine spike. If you want the break the habit, you need to change the routine that follows the cue.
Found this interesting?
Join a growing community of like-minded people. In the “The Human POV” newsletter I regularly share interesting insights, blogs, podcast and more on what it’s like being human in a digital age.
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
This powerful book helps you understand how habits are formed and why people and companies often struggle with change. Charles Duhigg researched our brains and how (and where) habits form in them. The result is striking. If you want to implement change, you shouldn’t focus on the change itself. Rather, you should focus on understanding how habits are formed. If you want to get fit, you want to get into the habit of fitness. This means you need to understand how habits work in order to successfully create one. It’s the reason why — for example — people who are trying to lose weight often fall back into old….habits, exactly! The habit of not eating healthy.
Key Takeaways
🔬 Habits need to be studied and understood in order to fully work. Also, you need to understand the negative habits that prevent you from developing te good habits. In the fitness example, it’s good to understand how habits work to create the habit of exercising. But also, to understand how the habit of eating unhealthy often is created.
🏦 Organizations work the same as humans. They create habits within their processes, culture, and people. If organizations want to grow long-term, it’s important to understand the habits behind both the current behavior as well as the desired habit that leads to growth.
🏆 Habits are made from cues, routines, and rewards. The cue is what sets off the habit. The routine is executing on the habit and the reward is the result of executing. For example (to stick to fitness), a cue for bad eating could be watching a certain show which you enjoy with popcorn. The routine is starting the show and getting the popcorn and the reward is a quick and short dopamine spike. If you want the break the habit, you need to change the routine that follows the cue.
Found this interesting?
Join a growing community of like-minded people. In the “The Human POV” newsletter I regularly share interesting insights, blogs, podcast and more on what it’s like being human in a digital age.