The Power Of Habit By Charles Duhigg Summary Pdf

The Power Of Habit By Charles Duhigg Book Summary

Friends, have you ever thought that our daily behaviour is not driven only by will power or motivation, but our habits guide us. Whatever we do from waking up in the morning to sleeping at night is 90% the result of our habits, but the question is, can we change our habits? Can we leave our bad habits and develop good habits?

This book demonstrates, through science and real-life case studies, that by learning to control our habits effectively, we can bring about significant changes in our lives, careers, and relationships.

If you also want to get rid of bad habits, want to be productive and want to move fast towards success if yes, then this summary can be a game changer for you, so let's start this evening without wasting time.

Chapter one: Habit cycle – How habits work

Habits have a lot of power in our lives. Whatever we do in our daily life, checking our mobile as soon as we wake up in the morning, brushing our teeth, drinking tea, driving or going to work, everything is a part of our habits, but have you ever wondered how habits are formed and how they work? Charles Du Higg explains in this book that every habit works through a habit loop, which is divided into three parts:

Cue (signal), Routine (routine), and Reward (reward). Cue is the signal and trigger that activates the habit. For example, as soon as you wake up in the morning, you feel the urge to check your mobile. Here, the cue is to wake up in the morning. After this comes routine.

Routine is the actual behaviour that we repeat again and again; that is, as soon as you wake up, you directly pick up the phone and start scrolling social media. And finally comes reward, which is the feeling that makes us follow this habit. When you check notifications or watch a funny video, the brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good.

This reward makes your habit stronger. This habit loop is the science behind every good and bad habit. Whether it is going to the gym or eating junk food, every habit is maintained through this loop. If we want to give up a bad habit or make a good habit, then first of all, we have to identify this habit loop.

When we understand which routine and reward our habit is based on, then we can easily transform our lives. In the following chapters, we will learn how to hack this habit loop and bring powerful change in our lives.

Chapter Two: The Craving Brain – How to Create New Habits

Our habits are not formed just because of routine or discipline, but because of the craving that arises in our minds. Charles Du Higg explains that when a habit becomes a part of our life, our brain itself motivates us to repeat that habit. Suppose you drink tea or coffee every morning. Initially, it is just a choice, but gradually you start craving it.

As soon as the morning comes, your brain starts anticipating the taste of tea or coffee and the energy of caffeine. This craving pulls you towards the kitchen and binds you in the habit. That is, craving is the real power that makes habits strong.

When a habit is just a routine, it is easy to change it. But when craving is added to it, then it becomes difficult to change it. This is the reason why habits like smoking, junk food, and social media scrolling are so addictive. If we want to make new good habits, then we have to create a new craving in our minds.

For example, if you want to make a habit of exercising, then you have to make the happiness, energy and stress-free feeling you get after a workout your craving. As soon as your mind starts anticipating this reward, your new habit will start getting stronger automatically.

In the following chapters, we will learn how we can turn our cravings in the right direction and make our lives better.

Chapter Three: Golden Rule of Changing Habits – How Change Happens

We all want to adopt good habits in our lives and leave bad habits, but often we think that changing habits is very difficult. Charles HocHic explains that instead of completely eliminating habits, we just have to understand their structure and change them in the right way.

This change is possible through the habit loop, which is divided into three parts: cue, routine, and reward. It is difficult to change rewards, but by changing the routine, we can transform any of our habits.

For example, if someone has a desire to eat biscuits with tea in the evening, then we can change them in the right way. If it is a habit, then his cue is evening time, and the reward is satisfaction and relaxation, will remain the same. But if he adopts healthy snacks like dry fruits or fruits instead of biscuits, then gradually it can become a new habit.

Similarly, if a person smokes cigarettes due to stress, then his cue is stress and reward is relaxation, but if he adopts a new routine like taking deep breaths or drinking green tea instead of cigarettes, then gradually this habit can change.

Change happens only where will power and right strategy join. But just changing the routine does not change habits completely. For this, we also have to identify our cravings. When we understand what is the real desire behind our habit, then we can replace it with a better option.

This is the reason why some people consider workouts a burden while others enjoy them because their mind starts seeing it as a rewarding experience. This is the golden rule of habit change, due to which many great people of the world left their bad habits and adopted new ones.

The real power to change habits comes when we start understanding ourselves and adopt the right strategy in our lives. In the upcoming chapters, we will know more in-depth how this method can bring big changes in lives and help us become the best version of ourselves.

Chapter 4 Basic Habits The Power of Small Wins some habits in our life are like this.

Changing these habits affects many other habits as well. These are called keystone habits. Charles du Hic explains that these are such habits that affect our identity, discipline and entire lifestyle. When we adopt a correct keystone habit, it works like a domino effect.

One change gives birth to many changes. For example, the habit of exercising daily not only improves our fitness but also improves our diet, sleep and confidence. Similarly, if a person learns to wake up early in the morning, then gradually productivity, time management and mental clarity also start improving.

Keystone habits motivate us through small wins and strengthen our self-control. When we experience small victories, our brain releases dopamine, which inspires us to move further. For example, if you start meditating for 10 minutes every day, then gradually this habit starts increasing your concentration, stress management and happiness level. Keystone habits can not only change our personal lives.

It can also positively affect your professional and social life. This is why successful people focus on adopting the right keystone habits in their lives. If we decide to adopt just one right habit, it can transform our entire life. In the following chapters, we will learn how we can identify our keystone habits and bring about big changes in our lives.

Chapter Five: Starbucks and the Habit of Willpower.

Willpower is the most important thing in adopting or changing any habit. But is willpower a limited resource or can it be strengthened? Charles Dew Higg explains in this chapter that willpower is like a muscle.

The more we use it, the stronger it becomes. To explain this idea, he gives the example of Starbucks, which helped its employees develop willpower as a habit to give better service and stay calm even in stressful situations.

Starbucks created training programs to teach its employees self-discipline and better decision-making when a customer was angry. Or if someone had given the wrong order, the employees were trained to follow a pre-decided routine.

This made their brain accustomed to responding calmly and professionally in difficult situations instead of reacting emotionally. All this happened due to making willpower a habit. Higg also explains that small wins and the right environment are very important to strengthen willpower.

If we follow the pre-decided plans and strategies, then our brain starts making the right decisions automatically instead of thinking every time. For example, if someone is dieting and decides in advance that he will eat only a healthy snack when he feels hungry, then he can avoid sudden cravings.

The biggest lesson of this chapter is that willpower is not an inborn quality, but it can be strengthened through habits when we start following small disciplines in our lives.

For example, sleeping at a fixed time every day, exercising or controlling your anger, our willpower increases automatically. Starbucks adopted this strategy and taught its employees the art of managing willpower, which improved both their performance and customer experience. In the following chapters, we will learn how we can also turn our willpower into a powerful habit and achieve our goals.

Chapter 6: The Power of Crisis. How leaders create habits in difficult.

Sometimes the biggest changes come when we are facing a big crisis. By using the crisis correctly, not only the habits of the individual but also of the entire organisation and society can be changed.

Charles Dugue explains in this chapter that leaders inspire people by creating new habits in difficult situations and bringing about big changes. When an organisation or a person goes through a crisis, it either breaks down or emerges stronger.

The best example of this can be seen in some big companies and institutions that used a crisis to develop a better culture and strong habits. For example, in a hospital, the wrong treatment of patients was given to patients.

Many times, big problems have been caused due to medicines, but when this problem was taken as a serious crisis, the hospital changed its entire working structure and adopted new habits in which the employees were trained to report their mistakes and communicate better.

The result was that the safety standards and performance of the hospital improved tremendously. Hick says that in times of crisis, people are more ready to adopt new things.

This is the reason why smart leaders turn any difficulty into an opportunity. When things are going on normally, it is difficult to bring about change, but when a problem arises, people are ready to adopt new methods.

This is why many successful companies and organisations see difficulties as an opportunity and focus on developing new habits. This principle also applies to personal life. When we face a difficult situation like a health issue, financial problem or career challenge, we should see it as an opportunity rather than a weakness.

When a person learns from his failures and decides to adopt new habits, he becomes stronger than before. The biggest lesson of this chapter is that a crisis is not just a challenge but the best opportunity for change.

If we take steps in the right direction in a difficult time, we can not only improve our habits but also inspire the people around us. In the following chapters, we will learn how we can turn the difficulties in our lives into a positive transformation.

Chapter Seven: Companies Predict and Control Habits. Have you ever wondered how companies understand our behaviour and buying habits?

In today's times, big companies can not only predict, control and manipulate our likes and dislikes but also our habits. Charles du Hic explains that brands understand our daily routine shopping patterns and decision-making process, and push us towards those products and services which we may not even need.

The best example of this is a retail company named Target, which guessed on the basis of the purchases of a pregnant woman that she was going to become a mother before her family members came to know.

Target observed that women who were pregnant seemed to be buying certain types of products like unscented lotion, zinc and calcium supplements. Seeing these patterns, the company started sending special coupons to strengthen the habits of the customers.

This principle is not limited to retail stores only, but Amazon can also deepen this habit by sending you discount offers. Similarly, food delivery apps show us greedy offers

so that we make unnecessary orders. The biggest lesson of this chapter is that if we understand our habits, we can avoid getting trapped in the trap of companies. If we realise how a company is influencing our behaviour, then we can become capable of making our own decisions instead of someone else thinking for us.

In the following chapters, we will learn how we can control our habits ourselves so that we can make the right decisions for our benefit instead of dancing to the tunes of companies.

Chapter Eight: Neurology of Free Will.. Are we responsible for our habits?

Are our habits completely under our control, or does our mind follow them automatically? Charles Dew explains in this chapter that habits are stored in a specific part of our brain, the basal ganglia, which motivates us to repeat the behaviour again and again without thinking. But the question arises that if habits take deep roots in the brain, can we really change them?

The answer is yes. Even though habits become automatic, we have the power to change them. For example, Dew tells a case study in which a person named Eugene a severe brain damage.

He could not create new memories, but still he used to go for a walk around his house every day without thinking and return. When scientists researched this, it was found that his brain had stored the routine, and hence he could follow it even without creating new memories. This means that once a habit is formed, it gets deeply settled in our mind, but we can still change it.

This is the reason why some people keep fighting habits like smoking, junk food, late-night screen time or laziness. Because our brain follows them automatically but if we understand the signals cue and reward and change the routine then we can gain control over our habits the biggest lesson of this chapter is that we are responsible for our habits we can't say that my habits are not in my control because science proves that habits can be changed Provided we really want to change them, if a person uses will power and the right strategy, he can break any habit and create new and better habits.

In the following chapters, we will learn how we can use the power of our mind correctly and transform our lives completely.

Chapter 9: The movement that changed America: How social habits work.

Habits can affect not only our personal lives but also the entire society and history. When people collectively adopt or change a habit, it becomes the cause of major social change. Charles Duke explains that the Civil Rights Movement in America is a great example of how social habits can change the thinking of the entire country.

This movement started when an African American woman named Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on the bus in protest against racial discrimination. This incident did not happen for the first time. Even before this, many people had raised their voice against racial discrimination, but Rosa Parks' protest became the spark of a movement, the reason for this was that she was already a respected person in the community.

She had many friends and acquaintances, and when she protested, her close ones immediately supported her. Dahik explains that this movement was successful because three big social habits were working in it.

First, strong social ties. Rosa Parks' acquaintances and people of her community were already connected with her, so when she protested, she got immediate support. Second, the weak ties effect.

The news of this movement spread from her close ones to far-flung communities, due to which thousands of people joined it. Third, new identity formation. As the movement grew, people made it not just a protest but their identity, due to which it became even stronger. When people connect a movement with their identity, it is not just a temporary protest but becomes a permanent social change.

This is the reason why this movement gave birth to a new law against racial discrimination, and a big step was taken towards equality in America. The biggest lesson of this chapter is that if we want to bring change in society, then we should not focus only on changing policies or laws, but also have to change the habits and thinking of the people. Real change is possible only when people make a change in their habits and identity.

Chapter 10: Role of faith in habichangeng..e Habits do not change with will power alone.

For this, deep faith is necessary. Charles Duke explains that when people try to change their habits, they are often successful in the beginning.

But they are not able to maintain the change for a long time. The reason for this is that habits are so deeply embedded in our minds that when any difficulty comes in life, we again return to old habits. But if a person has strong faith, then they can break this cycle and adopt new habits permanently.

The best example of this is Alcoholics Anonymous, a program that helps millions of people overcome alcohol addiction. This program does not depend on willpower alone, but it creates a collective belief system (community belief system) in which people support each other. When a person is alone, he finds it difficult to fight his addiction, but when he is in a supportive group, he believes that he can change his habit.

According to the AA program, two things are necessary for change. First, the person has to accept that he cannot have complete control over his habit, and secondly, he has to believe in a greater power, a higher power or something positive.

This belief can be in anything, God, community, family or even in oneself. Hick explains that this principle is not limited to addiction but also applies to our daily habits. For example, if a person wants to make a habit of waking up early in the morning, adopting a healthy diet or exercising, then he needs to believe in himself and his ability more than just making a routine.

When we believe that change is possible and when we get support from a group or system, then new habits get set more deeply in our minds. The biggest lesson of this chapter The lesson is that only knowledge and willpower are not enough to change habits. We also need faith.

If we really want to give up our bad habits and adopt good habits, then we will have to trust ourselves and become a part of such a support system that keeps motivating us in this journey. Without faith, habits are temporary, but when we recognise the potential of change in ourselves, they become permanent. So, friends, from The Power of Habit, we learned that habits can make or spoil our lives. If we adopt the right habits, we can improve ourselves.

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