It’s 2019 and everyone’s new year’s resolutions are in. Maybe you want to gain muscle, lose weight or even just fix your skin care routine (oops that’s my resolution).
In our pursuit of improvement, we often just rush into things without understanding the bigger picture. Luckily for us, understanding the bigger picture can be easier since information can be accessed easily in our digital world. With this vast information, thankfully, the Power of Habit was written! This is what you need when creating new habits or deleting horrible ones!
In our pursuit of improvement, we often just rush into things without understanding the bigger picture.
I really loved this book because it has a ton of information regarding why habits exist and how they can be modified with science to back shit up.
In a nutshell, the book will teach you
o Why habits exist
o How habits work
o How to create new ones
o How you can change existing habits
It also goes from a personal level to a larger perspective taking into account organizations and societies.
From here on out, I will share some concepts that I really loved with the book and I continue to apply in my life.
The Habit Loop
Cue — a trigger that tells your brain to go to automatic mode and which habit to use. (e.g. The sound of your notifications on your phone is a cue)
Routine- the “action” that happens which can be PHYSICAL or EMOTIONAL. (e.g. the action is checking the notification on your phone)
Reward — Can be a physical reward or hormonal reward like dopamine. (e.g. feeling of dopamine or being able to check off your notifications.)
When I was reading this back in college, I couldn’t help but think of my BIGGEST problem, Procrastination using social media.
I’d find myself scrolling through Faceboook and Twitter and before I know it it’s already midnight and the paper just indicated my name.
Using the concepts from the book, it shows that habit of opening social media once I sat down with my laptop. Every time I would sit down with my laptop I would open social media first.
Cue-sitting down with laptop
Routine- browsing through social media
Reward- dopamine boosts when checking notifications and random videos
One of the tips from the book was changing the routine of the habit. So I blocked my facebook and twitter for 15–20 minutes then I would then reward myself
f. Cue- sitting down
g. Routine- working on something for 15–20 minutes (I tried opening the websites but damn that blocker is good)
h. Reward- then the social media + feeling of accomplishment
I’m not a perfect productive guy, but hey it’s nice to feel one even if it’s just for 20 minutes!
You must believe in the change plus bringing other people who also want to change helps a LOT
It was belief itself that made a difference, once people learned how to believe in something, that skill started spilling over to other parts of their lives, until they started believing they could change. Belief was the ingredient that made a reworked habit loop into permanent behavior
A few months ago, a friend of mine asked “Why don’t you make a book club?” since I like reading.
I ended up making a facebook group for people who like to read and just being there made want to read a lot. Being in that community made me believe that it is possible to sustain this reading habit because other people are doing it too!
Plus I get slightly competitive so it’s best not to fall behind.
Experiment with the rewards
In order for habits to stick, there has to be rewards that you must really like in order to really do the habit.
In my case, Binge-watching Youtube videos is my guilty pleasure.
So instead of going straight to watching videos, I made it my reward for doing something.
I often tell myself that I will read for a chapter or write for a few minutes and my reward for that is being able to binge-watch for 30 minutes.
If you like scrolling through Instagram or binge-watching Netflix, but you want to create a habit of reading, then read a few pages first then reward yourself with whatever it is you wanted to do!
It becomes a guilt-free pleasure because you earned it.
It becomes a guilt-free pleasure because you earned it.
Conclusion
When this book was in my hands, it didn’t feel like a book and I finished it within the day because I was hooked. Again, the storytelling is great and the examples are relevant and engaging ranging from smoking to losing weight and work culture inside companies. This is highly recommended for those who want to start reading since this wont feel like reading.
For more recommended reads click here.
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If you have any questions feel free to just hit me up! I love questions and harsh criticism!
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If you liked what you read and looking for more, check out my website where you can find more book recommendations and more insightful blog posts!
