In the novel, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg reveals his enriching and eye-opening discoveries that explain habits. He takes us on the journey on why we have them, the difference between good and bad habits, and how to change habits. He explores habits and how they work by using three large categories of life: individuals, companies and various organizations, and through work of society itself.
Duhigg starts with habits we have as individuals. He begins this section by defining habits saying that they are automatic decisions caused by an individual’s brain to look for short cuts. This decision of short cuts begins with a three-step process that Duhigg calls, the habit loop. Starting with a cue triggering the habit to start, then comes the routine, which is the act of the behavior reinforced by the cue, and all ending with the reward which is the craving that was what triggered the cue to activate the behavior.
This habit loop was a key insight that was very interesting. I feel that I found this particular habit loop interesting because I realized that every individual unknowingly, acts out habit loops every day. Usually starting out with brushing one’s teeth. Our cue is that we wake up from sleeping and have bad breath, our cue is the bad breath. This cue then triggers the routine to go and get out of bed to brush our teeth leading to the reward which was our craving for minty fresh and clean breath. Another example that I think could fit in this unintentional habit loop group could be driving. A few of my friends have told me that very rarely they are driving home from campus and get home and they can’t recall how they got home, as if they had blocked out the memory of driving home and a robot was driving for them. This could be because of the habit loop that their body created from the repetition of driving back and forth from campus so often. The cue is being done with our day and craving to go home. The routine is driving back home, and the reward is being home.
In addition to having these habit loops such as brushing your teeth, making your bed, and other everyday habits that individuals have, there are also bad habits that people have that they want to change and feel like they can’t change. Duhigg touches on bad habits and wanting to change habits even if they are not necessarily bad habits. When he talks about people wanting to change habits he notes that there is a “golden rule” of habit change. This golden rule states, “Habits cannot be completely erased from a person, they can only be replaced.” meaning when an individual says that they have a bad habit that they want to get rid of, or stop doing, they cannot just eradicate the behavior completely to where it never existed. Instead, the individual can in a sense, cover up the bad habit. An example that Duhigg uses is with the group alcoholics anonymous. This group edits the habit loop by making changes to the routine of the individual but keeping the same cue and the reward. The cue for the individual could be anything, typically it is a particularly pressing situation, and the reward at the end is relief from that tense situation. Alcoholics anonymous goes in and changes the routine of the individual from binge drinking to get rid of the situation to promoting healthy behavior routine, such as exercise or prayer.
After reading this section of the novel, I related it to myself in a way that could benefit my personal life. I have a bad habit that causes some trouble in my life, my messy apartment. It keeps me from having friends over, feeling comfortable to leave my dog out, or even being able to do work effectively. After reading about the golden rule of change, I realized that I was trying to completely eradicate the habit and trying to change too much all at once. I began to think that I needed to start changing smaller. Such as starting by completely cleaning my apartment, but instead of making it boring and seem like a chore, I could play music or a tv show that I have already watched. This would then change my attitude towards the behavior and the routine of cleaning. After cleaning, I could start to replace the habit by picking up and putting away whatever it is that I see out of place instead of walking by it and thinking that I will put it away later. Doing the little things to replace the behavior of walking around a mess or a misplaced item is just one way that I can implement the golden rule of habit change in order to improve my life.
Duhigg comments on making large changes and how a large drastic change does not always work. He says that instead of making one large change make a small change and from that other changes will follow. This beginning small change is what he called a keystone habit, a habit of particular importance. Duhigg uses an example from the organization Alcoa and a keystone habit that their CEO, Paul O’Neill insisted on implementing. O’Neill’s keystone habit that he wanted to make important to the rest of the company was employee safety. He asked his employees to be particularly mindful to the safety of one another. When the employees started to put this mindfulness into action, the company began to thrive again. Costs of products went way down, and the quality of the products went up as well.
For many people a keystone habit that is focused on often is an individuals will power. Duhigg states that will power is the single most powerful predictor for personal success. For Duhigg’s point involving will power, he uses the example of Starbucks baristas. Starbucks baristas go through rigorous training, and in this training, they are tested heavily on their ability to hold to their will power. They are trained using the habit loop. Their cue is taught starting with a disgruntled customer. The routine is one where instead of lashing out at the customer and everyone getting frustrated, Starbucks baristas are trained to use their will power to calmly and effectively get the customer’s order out in a timely manner. The end reward is that the barista stayed calm and got everything done and ready for the customer. The customers reward is that now they have a delicious cup of coffee.
Bad habits that don’t include a solid keystone habit foundation, often results in a dysfunctional work place. A result of dysfunctional workplaces and keystone foundations that Duhigg uses is at hospitals. If hospitals did not run smoothly there could be many complications to the workplace and to the patients themselves. All hospital staff should be able to work together smoothly and professionally. As soon as something is out of place and communication ties are severed the lives of patients and staff is jeopardized. The dysfunction between doctors and nurses can cause a drastic increase in mortality rates and amounts of mistakes that can be made in the operating rooms and in recovery if doctors and nurses are not communicating well.
My overall conclusion on this can be summed up in a quote of Duhigg’s that I found particularly interesting, “Habits create neurological cravings. Most of the time theses cravings emerge so gradually that we’re not really aware that they exist, so we are often blind of their influences.” In reading this novel I did not realize that one of the important things in many individuals life revolves around the idea of the habit loop. People revolve and work well when they have a set routine that they can follow and get comfortable with. Another thing that I learned from the novel The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, is that change is okay. Not only is change okay but it can benefit an individual’s life. Such as in my own for example. When I start little changes in my life whether they are in my personal life or something as simple as putting the one dish that is in the sink in the dishwasher, I know that it will domino into other parts of my life and change those habits for the better also.