Simple, popular, “arm chair” psychology says that life is full of “rational” choices that guide our lives. However, reasoning from human experience and psychological research, we’ve learned that habits guide most of our lives and prevent us from “choice fatigue.” How are we then to make use of habitual practices? In this book, Charles Duhigg analyzes how this impacts our business lives, our personal lives, and our society. He seeks to identify specific ways that people can become more effective.
People with even a rudimentary understanding of marketing can quickly grasp many of the business insights in this book. Advertisers clearly try to get us hooked on numerous products, and the research presented in this section was hardly earth-shattering to me. Most of it can be observed by watching an hour of television or walking through an American mall. Likewise, the section on personal habits taught self-awareness, but those who are already fairly self-aware will not benefit much from explanations of cues triggering behaviors.
Despite these repetitious shortcomings, I found the section on implementing social change to be more enlightening. Duhigg examines two social examples – the 1960s Civil Rights movement and Rick Warren’s megachurch – in light of contemporary research. He shows why and how they produced lasting social change where others did not. Reading the newspaper each day, I find it easy to become jaded that true social improvements will never occur. Duhigg reminded me that they can, provided that the right circumstances exist and the right opportunities are taken. Importantly, he spells out what research identifies as what these factors are.
This book drives home the postmodern point that our practices are what make us who we are, not our “rational” minds. Our minds inform our practices and craft our habits, yes. But each day, we follow mental scripts more than make decisions. This understanding has been supported by neuroscience findings throughout the last few decades, and Duhigg has brought them to public light. That is the real contribution of this book and why it reached bestseller status. As a self-help book, it speaks to a general audience, particularly people who want to change some aspect of their life. (And frankly, who doesn’t?) Like many self-help books, its recommendations can be repetitive, but the underlying research is new and interesting.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
By Charles Duhigg
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
Copyright (c) 2012
Random House Audio
ASIN B007EJSMC8
Length: 10:53
Genre: Self-Help, Business
www.amazon.com