10 Life Lessons from ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg: How to Transform Your Life and Business
- Understanding How Habits Work
The first step in changing a habit is to understand how it works. Habits are formed by a loop of three elements: a cue, a routine, and a reward. Once you identify the cue, routine, and reward, you can begin to change the habit by replacing the routine with a new, healthier behavior.
Real life example: If you have a habit of snacking on junk food in the evening, you can identify the cue (feeling bored), the routine (snacking), and the reward (feeling satisfied). To change this habit, you could replace the junk food with a healthier snack and find a new source of satisfaction, such as reading a book or taking a walk.
Additional resources:
- TED Talk by Charles Duhigg: “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business”
- The Power of Emotions
Emotions play a key role in habit formation. When we experience an emotional cue, it triggers an automatic behavior. By understanding the emotional cues that drive our habits, we can use this knowledge to change the habit.
Real life example: If you have a habit of overeating when you are stressed, you can identify the emotional cue (feeling stressed) and replace the habit of overeating with a healthier habit, such as going for a walk or meditating.
Additional resources:
- “The Emotional Life of Your Brain” by Richard J. Davidson and Sharon Begley
- The Power of Beliefs
Our beliefs influence our habits. When we believe that we can change our habits, we are more likely to succeed. When we believe that we can’t change, we are less likely to succeed.
Real life example: If you believe that you can’t stick to a diet, you are less likely to succeed. If you believe that you can stick to a diet and that you can change your eating habits, you are more likely to succeed.
Additional resources:
- “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck
- The Power of Rewards
Rewards play a key role in habit formation. By finding new sources of reward, we can change our habits. When we repeat a behavior that leads to a reward, it becomes a habit.
Real life example: If you have a habit of overeating, you can find a new source of reward, such as feeling more energetic or losing weight, to help change this habit.
Additional resources:
- “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal
- The Power of Environment
Our environment can influence our habits. By changing the environment, we can change our habits.
Real life example: If you have a habit of snacking on junk food, you can remove junk food from your environment, such as your home or office, to help change this habit.
Additional resources:
- “The Power of Habit” book by Charles Duhigg
- “Influence: The Psychology of Persu
1. The Power of Social Influence
Social influence plays a role in habit formation. By surrounding ourselves with people who have positive habits, we are more likely to adopt those habits ourselves.
Real life example: If you have a habit of skipping breakfast, you can surround yourself with friends who have a habit of eating a nutritious breakfast, and this can influence you to adopt the same habit.
Additional resources:
“Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger
1. Identifying Your Habits
Identifying your habits is key to changing them. By becoming aware of your habits, you can understand what drives them and begin to make changes.
Real life example: Keep a habit journal and record your daily habits, including the cue, routine, and reward, to help you become more aware of your habits.
Additional resources:
“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear.
- The Power of Teams and Social Support
Our habits are influenced by the people around us. By creating a team or finding social support, we can help each other to change our habits.
Real life example: Joining a gym or a running club can help you to establish an exercise habit. By working out with others, you can provide each other with encouragement and accountability.
Additional resources:
“Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
“Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
- The Power of Small Wins
Small wins can help us to build momentum and establish new habits. By focusing on small, achievable goals, we can create a sense of progress and gain confidence in our ability to change.
Real life example: If you want to start exercising regularly, you could start by setting a small, achievable goal, such as walking for 10 minutes a day. As you achieve this goal, you can gradually increase the amount of exercise you do, until it becomes a habit.
Additional resources:
“Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything” by BJ Fogg
- The Power of Priming
Our behavior can be influenced by subtle cues in our environment. By changing the cues in our environment, we can change our habits.
Real life example: If you have a habit of snacking on junk food when you watch TV, you can change this habit by priming your environment. For example, you could drink water when you watch TV, or sit in a different chair.
Additional resources:
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
Here some resources you chould find helpful:
TED Talk by Charles Duhigg:“The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business”
YouTube channel: TED
Blog: Tiny Habits
Newsletters: James Clear’s Habits Newsletter
Podcast: The Habit Loop
medium account : Mickey — Medium
substack account : Sunidhi’s Newsletter
Blogger account : Maan ki Baat
Quora Space : Hamra Madhya Pradesh
Quora space : Entrepreneurial Growth Hub
