The Power of Habit

Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

By: Charles Duhigg

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This instant classic explores how we can change our lives by changing our habits.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times

In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter 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 the 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.

With a new Afterword by the author

“Sharp, provocative, and useful.”—Jim Collins

“Few [books] become essential manuals for business and living. The Power of Habit is an exception. Charles Duhigg not only explains how habits are formed but how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good.”—Financial Times

“A flat-out great read.”—David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

“You’ll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way.”—Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

“Entertaining . . . enjoyable . . . fascinating . . . a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.”—The New York Times Book Review

©2012 Charles Duhigg (P)2012 Random House, Inc.

Get in the Habit

Charles Duhigg is a reporter for the New York Times and author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. I picked this volume up out of sheer curiosity and was well rewarded for my reading time. This is an entertaining and informative book. The book falls into three major sections. In the first, Duhigg brings readers up to speed on current research about individual habits. Wait! Don’t let that discourage you from turning some pages in this book. It is really helpful material. In the next section, Duhigg applies what we are coming to understand about the development of habits to organizations. The most helpful chapter in this section concerns how Starbucks has institutionalized habits of success. In the final section, Habits of Societies, Duhigg describes how the Montgomery Bus Boycott came to be and how the pastor of Saddleback Church came to use habit to build his congregation. Both chapters are well worth the price of the book. Readers hoping to know how to break bad habits will not find direct advice. However, the book outlines how habits are formed and much can be gleaned from that perspective. I hope that Duhigg will follow this volume with others. His writing style is very good and his preparation is evident. The reading of Mike Chamberlain is excellent.

Find out what you're are doing wrong/right in life

Great book! I learned about keystone habit shift, transforming a habit, why habit is impotant, how to fight the habit, look for cues for a habbit to enter and whow they influence behavior, habit loops, rewards, cravings, Phelp's Mental visualization, self discipline and will power, goals settings, ...
I enjoyed it a lot. Three days and it was gone.
I looked at my life-- my mistakes and the wright doings. And i had to agree with the author. Habits matter more than we know.

I loved two ideas in this book.

But I did not like some of his jumping around with interrupting stories.

1. A woman was into drugs, alcohol, overweight, and couldn’t keep a job. After her husband left her, she decided to make one change - quit smoking. She had a purpose for quitting - to go on a desert tour. That one change started a series of changes, which resulted in exercising, losing weight, and keeping a job. Of special note were the scans of her brain. There is a section of the brain (I’ll call Area C) that is active when we crave food, drink, etc. The front of the brain (behind the forehead, I’ll call Area B) was not active for her - until she quit smoking. Area B can overpower cravings and become willpower. Area B became active when she quit smoking, as if it had been awakened, and then it started limiting other cravings as well. She began eating less and exercising more. It reminded me of something I heard about teenagers. Area B is not fully developed until the mid twenties, so teenagers take more risks prior to that time.

2. Willpower is like a muscle. If you exercise, it becomes stronger. Kids who practice piano or participate in sports build willpower with daily practice and workouts. This leads to becoming better students. Going to a gym on a regular basis also builds willpower - making yourself do the workouts. Willpower is similar to muscles in another way. After using a bunch of it, you need to rest. This was demonstrated in a test with cookies. People who used their willpower to avoid eating cookies did not do as well in the second test that also required willpower.

3. There is a good example in the last chapter showing how to analyze a habit in order to change it. It’s about a guy who ate a cookie every afternoon.

4. The story of how things changed at the Alcoa company was fascinating.

The rest of the book has many examples and stories. Several reviewers complained that the first part was good, but the rest was filler. I could see that, but I didn’t mind because most of the “filler” stories were interesting. Some I’ve heard before, but they are good stories and worth hearing a second time.

My main complaint was JUMPING AROUND AND INTERRUPTING STORIES! For example: the author was talking about the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. I was wondering how long the boycott lasted, when the author stopped and told the story of a church. After that he went back to finish the boycott story. This happened several times. I was annoyed and impatient. When you’re telling a story, finish it, and then go to the next.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Mike Chamberlain was good.

Genre: psychology nonfiction

Mostly theory

I would have liked some more examples of practical methods of starting and/or changing habits.

Good balance of theory and practice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it is simple in its explanation of a complicated topic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Power of Habit?

I loved the chapter about ALCOA and Tony Dungy.

Which character – as performed by Mike Chamberlain – was your favorite?

NA

What insight do you think you’ll apply from The Power of Habit?

I coach a team and we will start to write our goals down every week.

Keystone habits... the way to make real change

Where does The Power of Habit rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Ranks in the top ten audiobooks I've listened to.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The clear examples and break down of how the brain works regarding habits.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story about the metal fabrication company that became widely successful due to the new CEO's insistance that the keystone habit of workplace safety would change everything.

Any additional comments?

This book provides ideas and research that can be quickly incorporated into your professional and private life. Our habits dictate so much of life.

Simple, Powerful, and Intuitive.

I'm decently young reading this book, at only 20 I've began to see how impulsive my behavior has become. Ive developed terrible habits to keep me aware and responsible for my actions. This book has really changed the way I see myself, my future, and how I should proceed moving forward. I'm very happy to see that I'm not alone in the journey and the author shares a lot of experiences from different viewpoints that show us we're not alone. It gets dark at points, almost depressing the kind of lows some people go through, but genuinely I think it was necessary to understanding the grander points the author makes. There's a couple main ideas that are discussed throughout the book, but Duhigg manages to keep it very engaging with new narratives each chapter. If you're looking for some truly introspective and eye opening reading, this is the book for you.

Very informal, but not that inspiring.

I had heard a lot about the power of habit before hand and it was a no-brainer for me, that I had to listen to this. I liked the connections to the real world and the lives of people, but I was a bit disappointed that there were no stories about people, who have implemented a lot of good habits in their life and are succeeding as individuals because of it.

Oh well, maeby this is a good reminder on the fact that things don't always go as triumphly as one would expect to happen right off the bat.

Nevertheless I was able to pick up many good substance points about how to get rid of habits, that I consider distracting in my life.

Great book

What a wonderful book. Teaching us to be aware of our automatic actions. This book was able to help me understand myself better.

A little long

Book was informative and interesting, good overview of how habits (good and bad) are formed and how they affect our daily lives. Several interesting stories about major corporations and how they market based on consumer habits. Was not exactly what I expected, was hoping for more self-help on developing habits, but was a good listen nonetheless. Just ran a little long, I was ready for it to be finished about an hour before it was.