The Power of Habit

From time to time I write in my blog about my first love: BOOKS! This review is about the book: "The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg — a  New York Times best seller.  I found this book at the beginning of last year when it wasn’t popular.  I have hearken to see that it finally made it to the NYT best seller list mid-year and has stayed since and continues to be strong.

This is an amazing book.  I defy anyone who reads this not to have it change your life in some way — but, I suppose, you have to be open to change to experience it. 

We all have things about ourselves that we want to change, and it’s the New Year — a perfect time to make changes. Why not?

I will summarize the more important parts of the book and encourage you to buy it should this interest you (I get no remuneration from this sale or blog). My summary is much simpler than the book so eloquently states and describes.

  
The "Habit Loop" works like this:

You must first understand the elements in your habit loop, or you must understand (deeply) each part of it.

  

Experiment with Rewards

Rewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings that drive behaviors. Most cravings are obvious in retrospect, but incredibly hard to see when we are under their sway.

Experimenting with different rewards may take a while, so don't feel the pressure or impatience to get through this period. Test different hypotheses (rewards) to determine which cravings are driving the behavior. After testing each reward — look for patterns.

To Do:  

• Jot down the first three things that come to mind after doing the behavior with a new reward.  
• Then wait 15 minutes and "ask" — "do you still feel the urge to ___drink, smoke, eat, gamble, etc.___?"

The reason to write down the three things is twofold:  

• it focuses your attention
• writing it down allows your to recall it
  

Why 15 Minutes?

• To determine the craving that you are feeling
• By experimenting with rewards you can also isolate what you are actually craving, which is essential in redesigning your habit

Isolate the CUE

Identify categories of behavior ahead of time to see patterns. All habitual cues fit into one of five different categories and have certain attributes:

• Location — where are you located when the behavior happens?
• Time — what time is it when the behavior happens?
• Emotional state? — what are you feeling when the behavior happens?
• Other people — who else is around when the behavior happens?
• Preceding activity — What action preceded the urge when the behavior happens?

Have a Plan

Once you've figured out your "habit loop" — you've identified the REWARD driving your BEHAVIOR, the CUE triggering it, and the ROUTINE itself — you can begin to shift the BEHAVIOR.

You can change to a better routine by planning for the cue, and choosing a behavior that delivers a reward that you are craving. What you need is a plan.  Put another way: a habit is a formula our brains automatically follow —

             

[   OR   ]

When I see a CUE, I will do a ROUTINE to get a REWARD.