The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg · first published 2012
66% recommend30% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, story-driven look at how habits form and change through cue, routine and reward, with business examples like Target and Alcoa; recommended for breaking bad habits and building routines.
Common criticism: Some find it padded with anecdotes around a simple core idea
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed. Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new product called Febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history. Suddenly, one of them detects a nearly imperceptible pattern -- and with a slight shift in advertising, Febreze goes on
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…Some examples for myself: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown - Shame is not a good motivator, it does more damage than good in the long run. It’s currently my goal to never use shame on people again. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - One of the most empowering books I’ve ever read. We are creatures of habit and any habit can be altered. We don’t have to put up with bad behaviors and routines, they can be changed.…
on “Ask HN: What books have changed your mind?” ↗…and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) 3: Man's Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl) 4: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (Peter Thiel) 5: The Tender Bar (J. R. Moehringer) 6: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Charles Duhigg) 7: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Ashlee Vance) 8: Superintelligence (Nick Bostrom) 9: Gödel, Escher,…
on “Ask HN: I have no commitments for the next 6 months – what books should I read?” ↗…Narrative-Driven Decision Making (abstract as hell but rewarding) Thinking Fast and Slow (loved it) The Elephant In The Brain (seriously underrated) The Brain That Changes Itself (inspirationally freaky) The Power of Habit (good!) The Secret Barrister (mildly disturbing) Thinking In Systems (huge fan of this book!) A Short History of Truth (meh...) Man's Search For Meaning (brooo... I am so sorry) Thinking In Bets…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…healthy living is more or less a solved problem from a "what to do" standpoint. The main problem is breaking people of unhealthy lifestyle habits while educating them on healthier habits (see books like Power of Habit for habit formation and modification). I don't have links handy (edit: apparently I have a few) but just from reading over the years, it seems that the highest impact things you can do (that you have…
on “How Aging Research Is Changing Our Lives” ↗…(Peter Thiel) -A very short book, a must read for every entrepreneur. Dives into "first principal" thinking & execution. A very good read after/before "Elon Musk" the biography by Ashlee Vance. 3. The power of Habit (Charles Duhigg) -I have always wondered how successful people get so much done. They have the same amount of time as everyone else, but they are able to get so much more done...how? This book answered…
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - http://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/1400... How to Stop Worrying and Start Living - http://www.amazon.com/How-Stop-Worrying-Start-Living/dp/0671...…
on “Ask HN: which are some good self-help books?” ↗Read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. He has some good suggestions. One of the best ideas in there is that certain small habit changes create behavioral cascades. For people trying to lose weight, just writing down what…
on “Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?” ↗…how to build habits and routines. This saves a ton brain power. There is a great video on habit building http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8 Also, check out a book by Charles Duhigg called The Power of Habit. Finally, cut out the news and as much information as possible. Not watching the news added a ton of happiness to my life. This also cuts out distractions. Check out something called the Low Information…
on “Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself?” ↗I second "The Power of Habit", Duhigg is the kind of writer you're looking for - aggregating scientific sources and multiple studies, but presenting them in very easy-to-consume popular-science format. Worth noting that the 21 day…
on “Ask HN: Are there any systematic and scientific ways to develop a habit?” ↗…I always use the litmus test - "Is this affecting the ability to keep my life in order?" As long as there isn't a strong chemical component to whatever addiction you're trying to purge, a book like "Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg has a lot of practical ways to adjust your unconscious compulsions.
on “I'm an addict” ↗This article skims the surface of habit formation. For a great read on the topic, checkout the current bestseller: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business. http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/14000... The jist of it is that we all have habit loops that we respond to without realizing it. They…
on “The Billion Dollar Mind Trick: An Intro To Triggers” ↗I love this skeptical and evidence-demanding attitude. You may find evidence to support this (and other information about habits) in The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-What-Business/dp/14000... From personal experience, I've found the Seinfeld Calendar to be powerful, which is similar to the idea the author wrote…
on “30 minutes a day” ↗I hate to plug a book that I'm only 20% of the way in, but everyone here who is designing/selling a product would get a real kick out of Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit" http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Habit-Business-ebook/dp/B005... (Duhigg is a NYT writer and that piece about how Target knew that a girl was pregnant before her father did was an excerpt from this…
on “How Advertisers Convinced Americans They Smelled Bad ” ↗I recommend the book "The power of habit", written by Charles Duhigg, a NYT bestseller. WIt contains many years of academic research on psychology, and explains not only habit, but willpower. Also, watch this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIuahuKtim4…
on “Willpower: It’s in Your Head (2011)” ↗I try not to recommend pop-psych books, but The Power of Habit taught me some useful tricks: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400069289/ref=as_li_ss_tl?.... The upshot is that you can't stop this part of yourself. You can only redirect it. You have a rich set of…
on “Ask HN: I'm a chronic procrastinator – how do I break it?” ↗