The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Author: Charles Duhigg
Date published: 2012
Page length: 418
Contents: 9 chapters in total. DOWNLOAD TABLE OF CONTENTS

Amazon purchase link: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Goodreads link: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed.

Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

BOOK CONTENT:

PROLOGUE The Habit Cure

PART ONE The Habits of Individuals

1. THE HABIT LOOP How Habits Work
2. THE CRAVING BRAIN How to Create New Habits
3. THE GOLDEN RULE OF HABIT CHANGE Why Transformation Occurs

PART TWO The Habits of Successful Organizations

4. KEYSTONE HABITS, OR THE BALLAD OF PAUL O’NEILL Which Habits Matter Most
5. STARBUCKS AND THE HABIT OF SUCCESS When Willpower Becomes Automatic
6. THE POWER OF A CRISIS How Leaders Create Habits Through Accident and Design
7. HOW TARGET KNOWS WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE YOU DO When Companies Predict (and Manipulate) Habits

PART THREE The Habits of Societies

8. SADDLEBACK CHURCH AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT How Movements Happen
9. THE NEUROLOGY OF FREE WILL Are We Responsible for Our Habits?

APPENDIX A Reader’s Guide to Using These Ideas
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
Notes

I have included a pdf download of the chapters included in the book. You can also view the contents and a few sample chapters of the book on Amazon here.

We’ve reviewed another book by this author, Charles Duhigg before. You can read our other book review:

Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity

The appendix: A Readers Guide to Using These Ideas, provides a useful framework for breaking down a bad habit and gives good examples of how the reader can determine their own habit cues and rewards.

For those who haven’t read these concepts before, breaking down behaviours into cues, responses, rewards can be difficult so the examples provided are very useful. The book provides a useful summary of cues into five categories: location, time, emotional state, other people and immediately preceding the action.

In addition to the book, Charles also provides useful resources on his website that compliment the book. All items are downloads with the exception of those noted as videos.

• A Guide to Changing Habits
• A Teachers Guide to using The Power of Habit in your classroom
• How To Design A New Year’s Resolution That Lasts
• 5 Tips to Keeping a New Year’s resolution
• A flowchart explaining How to Break A Habit
• A flowchart explaining How to Create A Habit
• Q & A with Charles Duhigg on The Power of Habit
• How to Break Habits (VIDEO)
• How the Military Uses the Science of Habits (VIDEO)
• Target Knows Your Secrets (VIDEO)

You can access these resources by providing your email address. You do not need to purchase the book to access the resources.

Resources include:

flowchart explaining How to Break A Habit

A flowchart explaining How to Create A Habit

The most important points of habits were discussed in the first few chapters. For anyone who has studied a psychology undergraduate degree, the theories of Pavlov will feel familiar, though the author doesn’t refer directly to Pavlov’s theory.

If this book sounds interesting to you, it can be purchased from Amazon. You can also view the contents pages and a few of the introductory chapters in the sample.

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