SpeedReader Summaries - The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg: A Summary and Analysis

Please note that this is an UNOFFICIAL summary and analysis. This summary and analysis is not affiliated, authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by the subject books author or publisher.

Introduction

H OW WOULD YOUR LIFE change if you had the power to transform your bad habits to good and to develop new good habits? What could you accomplish? How far could you go?

The book The Power of Habit uses the muscle of science and dozens of studies on human behavior and psychology to teach us why and how habits are formed and how to change them. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Duhigg does a great job compiling years of research to paint a clear picture of how we can lose weight, accomplish more at work, and live the life we would have if all of our bad habits werent holding us back. This isnt just your run-of-the-mill self-help book. Its a serious, science-backed study of both habit formation and habit change.

The book youre reading right now is not meant to be a substitute for The Power of Habit but, instead, a supplement. We recommend using it to quickly refresh yourself on the key principles found in Duhiggs book and to bolster your understanding of the material with the analysis, discussion questions, and additional resources we provide.

M ANY OF THE THINGS we do each day feel like the results of conscious decisions when, in fact, theyre prompted by habit. Habits exist to save our brains energy. If we had to weigh and consider each move we made, we would be mentally exhausted by breakfast. Instead, we operate largely by automation, reserving our mental power for more significant choices.

Habits form via a three-step process known as the habit loop. First, a cue triggers your brain to go into auto-mode. Second comes the behavior itself. Third is the reward, either physical or cognitive. After this loop is repeated over time, a habit forms. The Power of Habit looks at how to manipulate this habit loop to change bad habits and to develop good habits.

How Habits Work

W HERE DO HABITS COME from? Well, scientists have concluded that habits are the result of our brains efforts to save energy. Habits allow our brains to rest occasionally by putting our actions in automatic mode. This is why we dont need to consciously think about our every action, including things like walking, breathing, eating, et cetera. As a result, our brain can save its vigor for more important tasks.

So how do habits form? According to the research, habit-forming is a three-step process, or loop, if you will. First, something (usually referred to as a cue) triggers your brain to go into habit, i.e. automatic, mode. This same cue also signals to your brain which type of behavior to adopt. Second, there is a behavior or routine (either physical, mental, or emotional). Third, there is a reward. The existence of the reward is what tells your brain that it should go back to this particular behavior (which will eventually become a habit) when similar circumstances present themselves in the future. And so the loop goes on.

Once ingrained in the brain, habits are tenacious. But they arent necessarily permanent. Fortunately for those of us burdened by bad habits, habits can be interchanged or, at the very least, ignored. The key is to throw a wrench in the habit-forming loop. In other words, you have to consciously and aggressively work to change a habit because, otherwise, the brain will disengage as it has evolved to do and the habit will simply continue.

Youll notice we said change, not destroy a habit. Habits never disappear completely. Theyre encoded into the complex recesses of our minds. Thats the point of a habit, after all. The bad news is that bad habits, even after we change them, continue to hide in our brains and can reappear at any time. Preventing this from happening requires continued vigilance, but it does get easier and easier.

1. We need habits. Without them, our brains would always be exhausted.
2. Habits form via a three-step loop.
3. Bad habits CAN be changed and good habits CAN be formed.

Creating New Habits

T HE BEST WAY TO CREATE new habits is to learn how to manipulate the habit loop. This can be boiled down to two basic steps. First, you have to find a cue to use to trigger the behavior you seek to make into a habit (step one in the habit loop). Then you have to find a reward (step three in the habit loop). Once you do those two things, youre well on your way to forming (or changing) a habit (step two in the habit loop, i.e., the behavior).

For example, lets say you want to get into the habit of exercising every morning. You would begin by choosing a specific cue that happens every morning. It could be the sound of your alarm clock, an alert you set in your phone, or the cool water you splash on your face every morning. Then, after you perform step two, the habit (your workout), you would move to step three, the reward. The reward would be something that you enjoy just for the sake of enjoying it. It might be a cup of delicious coffee, a luxurious shower, or sitting down to enjoy a chapter of your favorite book or a few minutes of television before getting ready for the day. Following these three steps over and over again is how new habits are formed.

Its important to note that step three, the reward, must be something you crave. If its something you simply feel like you should do (like drinking herbal tea when you really want coffee with cream), then the reward step will be missing and no habit will form. The reward has to be something you truly desire, something you appreciate in its own right. Put simply, in order for the behavior to become a habit, step one (the cue) must trigger the brain to look forward to the reward (step three).