In this post: Read this book NOW. Seriously, the hook and title say all you need to know.
Category: Learn Something New + Thinking
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes! 100 times yes.
This was one of the earliest books I read in my new grad book list. It was also one of the best and most practicable.
As you can probably guess in the title, Duhigg explores how our habits are formed - both at a personal level and a customer level. (Anyone else getting Buyology vibes?)
Exercise? Smoking? Fast food addiction? Yep, he explains it.
The largest lesson in this book is the habit loop. An action experiences three phases, if it happens enough times, it becomes a habit. Those three phases are: Cue, Routine, and Reward.
The Cue is what signals our behavior. Let's use the fast food example included in the book, for reference. If on your commute home every day you pass a Mcdonald's, those golden arches are the cue to your brain that starts up the fast-food eating habit.
The Routine is the action itself. You eating fast food.
The Reward is what you feel or otherwise experience afterward. It's what our brain remembers that keeps us engaging in the habit each time we get the cue. It's the feeling of fullness or delight in those greasy french fries after eating your order.
The golden ticket of information is that any part of that habit loop can be subbed for something else, it just entirely depends on what the goal is. Keeping with this fast food example one last time:
If the goal is to not eat fast food every day, change your commute 4 days out of the week to get rid of the cue. That way, you only indulge one day a week.
If the goal is to eat on the way home, adjust the routine to eating a packed meal or at a healthier restaurant.
If the goal is to feel full from french fries, make the reward one you enjoy at home - pop french fries in the air fryer so you can still enjoy your favorite snack.
This book blew my mind, and I think about it whenever I am trying to reassess or establish my habits.
Duhigg does a great job of giving several real-life examples of habits, not to mention, those examples are those that many people are trying to address. It is easy as a reader to see the applicability of his words to one's own life.
For example (fair warning: going to toot my own horn here), I have SERIOUSLY outdone myself on sticking to my exercise habit. As with many people, exercising was something I'd be super dedicated to at the beginning of the year, but because of my workload or extracurricular commitments, could not stick to my New Year's resolution for an extended period of time. I took a weightlifting class at USC in 2020 in which the final was creating our own weightlifting plan, and finally was like, "I need to figure out this workout regimen thing! I cannot make a personal training plan and not use it."
Coincidentally, I had read this book during the time of the weightlifting class.
Reminders, I kid you not, I am still going strong on that plan. My cue is signing up for a gym reservation in my apartment (and Alexa reminding me of the reservation 30 minutes before), my routine is working out itself, and the reward is the endorphins and the sense of accomplishment after working out. I want to add a smoothie to that reward but I have yet to find a great smoothie recipe.
This book and its principles work. And even better, it can be applied to anything.
I did not receive the business section of this book with as much excitement, but there were helpful lessons there as well. Did you know that the establishment of brushing our teeth with toothpaste as a habit began as a marketing campaign to boost toothpaste sales? The reward for brushing our teeth is the minty taste afterward, which has no dental benefit. However, when toothpaste without the minty reward was rolled out, those sales dropped dramatically. Our consumer behavior believed the product was not working properly or was ineffective. Hence why many tubes of toothpaste give a minty, refreshing feeling now.
Wild, huh?
Read this book. I have no complaints.
Ramiah Reflects
My New Favorite Life Quotes:
(no particular life quotes - this entire book is worthy of quoting).
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
What happy habits do I have? Want?
What negative habits do I want?
What are the cues, routines, and rewards of my habits?
Food for Thought:
Hey Ya! by Outkast became popular (other than it being a hit) by radio hosts repeatedly sandwiching the song between already popular hits at the time (page 107). Similarly, on page 210, Duhigg writes "If you dress a new something in old habits, it's easier for the public to accept it." It makes you think - how much of our habits (interests, even!) stem from our own initiative, and how many have been orchestrated for us to be interested in?
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You are trying to establish a habit
You are trying to break a habit
You want to learn about society has driven certain habits on the population
You want to mildly learn how businesses implement their products into habits (Buyology also touches on this)
You want your mind to be blown
You just want to read about something cool
See below for my book notes:
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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