Monday, June 4, 2012

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit
Written by Charles Duhigg

I have to say that this book was definitely not a boring non-fiction self-help book! I really enjoyed the entire thing. I listened to this one as an audio book in my car to and from work every day and I think it has really affected my own habits and changed the way that I look at habits in general. I had never thought much about habits except for when I quit smoking a few years ago.

The book deals with how we develop habits both consciously and unconsciously. It's not so much a "how to" book on developing habits; it's more of an informative documentary on habits. Throughout the book, Duhigg tells stories of individuals and their habits. The stories he chooses to include are all very interesting and thought provoking.

Even though the book is not intended as a self-help book, I found my own habits changing as I listened each day. The bad habits began dropping away more and more frequently as I listened to the book day after day. I found that I was beginning to develop new good habits as well. Many of these good habits have seemed to come together effortlessly, even those that I'd tried unsuccessfully to adopt into my life over and over again in the past. For instance, I've been drinking more water, eating healthier and exercising daily. I'd tried to implement these habits time and time again before reading this book and failed miserably.

So, whether you're hoping to learn how to overcome your own bad habits or are just curious about how habits are formed, you should read this book. I found it incredibly thought provoking and really useful. We all have habits we'd like to better understand and habits we'd like to do away with and habits we'd like to take up. Anyone interested in how the brain works would also enjoy the book, as Duhigg goes in depth on how our brain processes habits, and exactly how they work.

No comments:

Post a Comment