Charles Duhigg is an American renowned journalist. His book The power of habit is something that he considers his dream project. From this book, one can easily have the concept of replacing bad habits with constructive habits. So download the pdf of “The Power of Habit” and unleash your true potential.
The power of habit by Charles Duhigg PDF Download
There are certain tricks and techniques that can easily elevate the standard of living of any person form. Habit is one of those essentials that must be executed in a proper and subconscious state of mind. “the Power of Habit” has blatantly depicted the proper structure of habit and its importance which are discussed below.
What is a habit?
Habit is a course of action or actions that one performs after a certain interval of time. To put this in more simple words, it is the deliberate course of actions that someone chooses to perform at a certain point in time and now that that has become a part of their life. so it is the formula based on which our work automatically.
So in order to understand its full functionality, it is very important to learn how it sticks to our brain. Listed below are some points that will explain it effortlessly.
Habit loops
All the habits can be structured as a simple three-step loop.
Cues
- This is the phase where the mind goes into the automatic mood.
- The range of cues is very wide. It can be anything and anytime. For example, it can be ocular, emotional, series of thoughts, certain people, places, anything, and everything.
Routines
- This is the frequency in which these habits are repeated.
- If this task is performed in the conscious state of mind then it can be very simple else it can be complex to interpret.
Rewards
- Rewards are the sensations and achievements for which the course of action is repeated. Rewards are the main reasons for which the brain remembers a particular loop of action.
- Rewards can be anything. Taste of food, physical sensation, emotional payoffs. It can be anything- physical or sensational.
When a habit comes into play then the discussion-making power of the brain gets halted. If the habit is good for you then it will not create any problems but if the habit is not good then it will create problems unconsciously. So you need to have a deep understanding of how habit works to eliminate the old and unravel the new one.
It is true that habits never get disappear. All the habits are deeply encoded in the brain. The real problems are that the brain does not know how to differentiate between the good and bad one.
Keystone habits
Habit is like water that flows in its own tone. Habits are unreasonable choices and inevitable decisions that embrace us unconsciously. So from now, one must be very careful about the habit one develops.
Habits play a key role in shaping our life in proper form. These most important habits that can influence the basic activities of life such as eating, sleeping commutating, and others is coined as keystone habit.
The keystone habits are the epitome of the person. so the secret of success is not getting everything right but developing the keystone habits right. It will be wise for anyone to give the keystone habits their first priority.
The process behind the creation of habits
Any type of habit is so blatant because it creates neurological carvings. Some of the habits take forms at a slow pace that we can’t even feel its existence and get completely ignored by its influence. So to fetch those cravings we repeat those actions again and again without our knowledge.
The particular habit loop is derived by the collaboration of a cue, routine, and a reward and craving occurring one after another. So the process of creating habits is pretty simple. You need a select a cue and realize the award and the rest will fall in line.
In many cases it may seem that creation of habit takes more than these two steps but once the endorphins start secreting from the mind that course of action will be periodic.
The fundamental rules of changing habit
To change the old habit these three rules will be very effective
- Keep the cue the same
- Keep the rewards the same
- Change the routine
Studies have proved that almost everything behaviour can be changed if the cue and the rewards remain the same. The first initiative to change any habit should be self-belief. One should have enough confidence and self-believe that this change is possible. One effective way of maintaining the process is to commit it to the loved one.
How habits can be changed?
To change any habit one must have the basic knowledge of the cue, routine, and reward of the habit. having a full understanding of the component of the habit loop is very crucial. This four-stop program can help you to develop a new habit.
Identification of the cue: Any course of action should not occur subconsciously. You should have a proper explanation for it.
- Types of rewards
If you want to come out of the bad habit then it is very important to understand the reward system of the habit loop. So experiment with the reward system and try to find an alternative solution to the craving.
- Elimination of the cue
It can be considered one of the hardest parts of changing a habit loop. You need to analyze and scrutinize your behaviour and liking. So replace the cue with some alternative constructive cue.
- Have a proper plan
Having a proper plan is very important. Keep in mind the beginning can be hard and you need to supersede all your difficulties. Keep experimenting until the cue falls perfectly in your habit loop.
Conclusion
Knowledge is power. so be conscious of your every course of action. It is your life so it is always your responsibility to mend it in the right way. Hope this article will help you get all your habits in check.
