The Power of Habit #0 The Habit Cure (Prologue Summary)

This is a chapter-by-chapter summary of a book by Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business (2012) series. One chapter, one article. Read this summary, buy the book. Enjoy!

                                                  

“Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy.
But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”

(Charles Duhigg)

One paper published by a Duke University researcher in 2006 found that more than 40% of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits. Habits can be changed, “if we understand how they work,” explained Charles Duhigg.

For example, a riot in Iraq. Violence was usually preceded by a crowd of Iraqis gathering in the plaza or other open space and, over the course of several hours, growing in size. Food vendors would show up, as well as spectators. Then, someone would throw a rock or a bottle and “all hell would break loose.” Then one day, a soldier who is an expert in the habit modification program requested from the town’s mayor to “keep food vendors out of the plazas.” The mayor agreed. A few weeks later, a small crowd gathered near the plaza and throughout the afternoon, it grew in size. Some people started chanting angry slogans. But at dusk, the crowd started getting restless and hungry. People looked for the kebab sellers normally filling the plaza, but there were none to be found. The spectators left. The chanters became dispirited. By 8pm, everyone was gone said Duhigg.

“Understanding habits is the most important thing I’ve learned in the army,” the major-soldier told Duhigg. “It’s changed everything about how I see the world. You want to fall asleep fast and wake up feeling good? Pay attention to your night-time patterns and what you automatically do when you get up. You want to make running easy? Create triggers to make it a routine. I drill my kids on this stuff. My wife and I write out habit plans for our marriage. This is all we talk about in command meetings. Not one person in Kufa (Iraq) would have told me that we could influence crowds by taking away the kebab stands, but once you see everything as a bunch of habits, it’s like someone gave you a flashlight and a crowbar and you can get to work.”

You Are the Sum of Your Habit(s)