A Captivating Review of 'The Power of Habit '

This review will help you grasp the main ideas and decide whether the complete work is worth reading. If you want to improve your productivity and health or reach new heights, this review will be your empowering guide to greatness.

Why is it worth reading 'The Power of Habit'?

"Change might not be fast, and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power of Habit'. 

Charles Duhigg brings impressive credentials that are not only shown in 'The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business,' but also in his later work, 'Smarter Faster Better.' As a business reporter for the New York Times Magazine, Harvard Business School and Yale College graduate, Pulitzer Prize winner, and National Academy of Sciences of the United States prize winner, he has thoroughly researched this topic. He presents scientific concepts in an engaging, accessible way, complete with practical applications. The work's success speaks for itself — it spent over 60 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and earned recognition as the best book from both the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. 

Though not a scientist or a psychologist, Duhigg developed his interest in habits while working as a newspaper reporter in Baghdad. He divided his book into three parts. The first part is devoted to the emergence of habits in people's lives, diving into the neuroscience of habit formation, building new habits and changing existing ones, and even revealing how (spoiler alert!) one advertising campaign made tooth brushing a daily ritual for Americans. The second part contains research on the habits of successful companies and organizations, while the third refers to the habits of the community. The appendix provides practical tips for changing old habits and fighting procrastination.

Each chapter builds on the central idea that you can change a habit once you understand how it works. The book draws from numerous scientific studies, interviews with over 300 scientists and managers, and research conducted at various companies.

'The Power of Habit' goes beyond self-help

The book has received numerous positive reviews online. Charles Duhigg explains how individuals can take control of their habits to achieve success. By understanding how habits are formed and eliminated, readers can learn to reshape their behavioral patterns. The author presents this information in an accessible manner, helping readers grasp how people develop habits that can be hard to change. 

The book is engaging not only for those looking to break undesirable habits and adopt useful, lasting skills but also for business owners who can enhance their employees' efficiency by adjusting their behavior. Through vivid, real-life examples, Duhigg illustrates that the principles of habit formation are effective and can motivate change. Furthermore, by setting a positive example, you can "infect" others with beneficial changes in society.

How do habits work?

You've probably heard of the 21-day rule, which suggests it takes that long to form a habit. However, it's not always that straightforward. This rule, popularized by self-help books, simplifies the actual process. In reality, the time it takes to form a habit can vary widely depending on the complexity of the behavior and the individual's circumstances. Many factors are involved in adopting habits like running in the morning or avoiding pastries late at night, making the process more intricate. Duhigg proposes a new science.

The Power of Habit explains why breaking destructive habits in your everyday life toward your goals is so hard and why building helpful habits — like going to bed earlier, eating right, playing sports, and not staring at your smartphone for hours — can feel impossible. Duhigg carefully examines the physiology of habits, how they arise, and what happens in your brain at the anatomical and chemical levels.

The science of habit

"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits," William James wrote in 1892. Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision-making, but they're not. They're habits. And though each habit means relatively little." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power Of Habit'

Your brain arranges itself in a fascinating way. When you repeat an action several times, it quickly becomes a habit. This reaction happens because your brain conserves energy by streamlining simple daily activities like getting dressed, cooking dinner, or parking your car.

Interestingly, to launch this mechanism, the brain must receive a signal, a kind of sign,  followed by an action, and a reward. This simple signal-action-reward pattern forms the foundation of all habits, after which they become deeply embedded into your brain's structure.

Duhigg discovered that the habit loop has three stages. First comes the cue or trigger, which tells your brain to switch to automatic mode. This might be a specific time, place, emotional state, or the presence of certain people. Next is the habitual action itself — physical, mental, or emotional. Finally, there's the reward, helping your brain decide whether to remember this pattern. Interestingly, the basal ganglia, not the memory center, controls habits. Understanding this loop can help you identify the cues and rewards that drive your habits, making it easier to change them.

"Without habit loops, our brains would shut down, overwhelmed by the minutiae of daily life. People whose basal ganglia are damaged by injury or disease often become mentally paralyzed. They have trouble performing basic activities, such as opening a door or deciding what to eat." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power Of Habit'

The golden rule for changing habits

Hundreds of habits shape your daily life, guiding everything from how you get dressed in the morning to how you fall asleep at night. These habits influence what you eat for breakfast and how you approach your work. They also determine whether you hit the gym after work or head to happy hour instead. Each habit has its own triggers and rewards, which can be changed. Duhigg's golden rule of habit change is to keep the same cues and rewards but change the routine. To do so, you must be willing to take the risk of making that change. It requires conscious effort to identify the triggers and rewards that drive habitual behaviors and seek alternatives.

Although the book doesn't offer strict formulas, it provides a framework for understanding the mechanism of habit work and guidelines for experimenting with change.

Habit change framework

• Identify the habitual action.

• Experiment with rewards (this will help determine which desires drive specific habits).

• Identify the cue. This can be challenging, as cues arise from various responses and fall into one of four categories: location, time, emotional state, other people, or previous action.

• Develop a plan to replace the old action with a new, more appropriate one that delivers the same reward.

Practice self-discipline in real-life

"Self-discipline has a bigger effect on academic performance than does intellectual talent." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power of Habit'

Duhigg believes your keystone habits define who you are. For a long-term habit to emerge, you need more than just a signal and reward — your brain must passionately desire the reward, craving those endorphins or that sense of achievement. The sign must trigger a habitual action and a desire for the reward. Passionate desire is the driving force of habits. And if you determine how to evoke this desire, you can form a new habit more easily. 

Another necessary component in changing habits is faith. You need to believe in the possibility of such changes. Otherwise, nothing will work. Willpower and self-control also matter. Sometimes, people with stronger self-control seem to accomplish more without much effort. But this is because they act automatically. Their willpower manifests itself automatically, without thinking, but willpower is not just a skill. It's like a muscle that needs to be trained and can tire from overuse.

Think about Olympic champion Michael Phelps and his success as an example of the power of habit and mental preparation. Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman, created a clear routine that helped him achieve victory. Michael Phelps succeeded through physical training and proper habits that allowed him to act without stress, even under pressure.

The flip side shows up in situations like alcoholism. Remember, every action has an explanation, and bad habits can be replaced with good ones. For alcoholics, the key lies in finding new ways to experience joy and relaxation.

"Alcoholics crave a drink because it offers escape, relaxation, companionship, the blunting of anxieties, and an opportunity for emotional release." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power Of Habit'

Organizational habits

"When you learn to force yourself to practice for an hour or run fifteen laps, you start building self-regulatory strength. The solution, Starbucks discovered, was turning self-discipline into an organizational habit." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power of Habit'

The book's second part discusses how successful organizations form and use good habits. Just like individuals, companies develop habits. Changing one key habit or creating a new one can transform an entire organization. Successful companies build habits that become part of their employees' daily lives, often enhancing self-discipline through clear guidelines while allowing autonomy in decision-making to reinforce their willpower further.

Duhigg also explains how organizations sometimes use crises to form new habits in their staff. By deliberately prolonging the feeling of crisis and creating the appearance of a critical situation even when it has passed, leaders of many companies introduce the necessary changes and increase organizational flexibility.

• A case study of Procter & Gamble's Febreze odor eliminator

Febreze initially struggled as a new product for Procter & Gamble. P&G found that people didn't notice odors in their homes due to olfactory adaptation, also termed nose blindness, which led to a lack of demand for Febreze. By repositioning the product with ads of a woman enjoying its fresh scent as a final step in the cleaning process, P&G helped consumers form a new habit of using Febreze as part of their cleaning routine.

• A case study of Alcoa 

When Paul O'Neill became CEO of the company Alcoa in 1987, he took on a struggling company with quality issues and falling stock prices. Rather than focusing on profits, O'Neill emphasized a vision of making Alcoa the safest company in America, prioritizing zero workplace injuries. He believed worker safety would be the key measure of progress in transforming the organization. By focusing on safety, O'Neill united the company and drove significant change. Under his leadership, Alcoa became one of the world's safest companies, and its market value soared from $3 million in 1986 to $27.53 billion in 2000.

"Someday soon, say predictive analytics experts, it will be possible for companies to know our tastes and predict our habits better than we know ourselves." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power Of Habit'

• Target's customer insights

Duhigg highlights how retailers analyze consumer habits to market products effectively, often anticipating unrecognized needs. A prime example is Target, which specifically targets pregnant women eager to buy baby-related items. Beyond these essentials, Target offers a variety of other products, enhancing its convenience as a shopping destination. They leverage customer data to understand buying patterns, a common strategy among online retailers to boost sales.

Society's habits

The last part reveals how society's habits form and spread. It details why many people, entire cities, or even countries, unthinkingly follow certain behavioral principles.

It is not difficult to guess that various social movements rely on the social habits of many people. Scientists have long known that similar social groups are formed based on friendly or family relationships. People with similar habits and behavioral models united in groups are the driving force behind all conflicts of global importance and the strongest public unrest.

Duhigg uses the Montgomery bus boycott as an example of how social habits and public pressure can bring about change. After Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, the bus boycott lasted for over a year, and habits of mutual support and protest replaced those of daily bus use.

Finally, Duhigg emphasizes that neither individual nor societal habits are innate. They always result from making a conscious choice.

The "Habits of Peer Pressure"  chapter explains how your social environment influences your habits. If you want to change your behavior, you should surround yourself with people who have your desired habits.

• To Duhigg, Saddleback Church is an example of community building through the power of habit. Rather than relying on the charisma of a single pastor, Saddleback built a system of habits that brought people together.

"If you want to have Christ-like character, then you just develop the habits that Christ had," one of Saddleback's course manuals reads. "All of us are simply a bundle of habits… Our goal is to help you replace some bad habits with some good habits that will help you grow in Christ's likeness." Every Saddleback member is asked to sign a "maturity covenant card" promising to adhere to three habits: daily quiet time for reflection and prayer, tithing 10 percent of their income, and membership in a small group. Giving everyone new habits has become a focus of the church. "Once we do that, the responsibility for spiritual growth is no longer with me, it's with you. We've given you a recipe," Rick Warren told me. "We don't have to guide you, because you're guiding yourself. These habits become a new self-identity, and, at that point, we just need to support you and get out of your way." ― Charles Duhigg, 'The Power of Habit'

• Duhigg claims that Starbucks proves that habits can shape and make a company's culture successful. Through their LATTE Method algorithm for handling customer conflicts, Starbucks has created a consistently high-service worldwide system that develops willpower and provides straightforward action algorithms.

'The Power of Habit' review: Open life-changing insights with the Headway App

If you want to change your life but don't know where to start, Charles Duhigg's 'The Power of Habit' will open your eyes to the mechanisms of behavior. The Headway app library offers a concise 12-minute summary of its key insights.