The Power of Habit - Memorization Booklet
The Power of Habit - Memorization Booklet
The Power of Habit - Memorization Booklet
OF HABIT
Champions don’t do extraordinary things;
They follow the habits they’ve learned.
Charles Duhigg
MEMORIZATION BOOKLET
WHY YOU NEED TO FILL OUT THIS BOOKLET!
NOTE
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Big Idea #1: The Habit Loop
The habit loop can be broken down into three dis- When a habit becomes a concrete, automatic pro-
tinct processes: cue, routine and reward. Consider cess, the brain goes into autopilot—making decisions
your evening routine. Let’s say you go home every for you without your input. Unless you counteract
day, turn on the news and sit down in your favorite the task deliberately each day—incorporate new
lounger to enjoy a glass of wine. Would you be satis- routines—you’re powerless. Understanding how the
fied with water and a yoga class instead? Highly un- habit loop functions will give you control over your
likely. Your habit loop subtly dictates that you follow own behavior.
the same pattern each day even if you planned on
changing things up. Cue: Returning Home. Routine: By learning to observe the cues and rewards, we can
News & Wine. Reward: Relaxation. change the routines.
QUESTION EXERCISE
What cues and rewards can you identify when you’ve Plan for a new habit you would like to develop. Iden-
been to fast food restaurants or businesses that in- tify what you can use as a cue, the steps involved in
centivize you to consume more? creating a routine and the reward this new habit will
deliver.
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Big idea #2: A Cue
A cue is a prompt that stands at the root of every Jared loved Subway sandwiches. Most of America
habit. Oftentimes, a cue is urged forward by a crav- does too. In fact, even if you don’t, you’ve probably
ing. You’re usually unaware that a craving is driving found yourself craving a Subway sandwich when you
your behavior. least expect it. That’s because Subway executives
want the smell of baking bread to waft down hallways
By figuring out how to spark a craving and rewarding and around corners uninterrupted, so that passers-
it, creating a habit becomes easier. by will alter their lunch plans for a six-inch. In fact,
Subway uses scent packets in their ovens which are
much more powerful than the average bread batch.
ACTIVITY QUESTION
Pick a habit you’d like to eliminate. Fill out the fol- ating the symptom of the cue will help you strategize
lowing for this habit’s cue. a long-term solution to alter your behavior.
Example:The average mobile phone user checks their Consider your product or business. What cue could
phone every 6.5 minutes during the day. Consider you closely associate with your product or brand
the fact that your phantom vibration is a physical in order to entice customers to spend their money
manifestation of a craving. What is the true circum- with you?
stance that made you want to check your phone?
Are you expecting a text message? Are you procras-
tinating? Are you avoiding a social interaction? Evalu-
1. Location
2. Time
3. Emotional State
4. Other People
5. Senses
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Big Idea #3: The Golden Rule of Habit
Change
Any behavior can be transformed if the cue and re- Duhigg describes Mandy, the habitual nail biter.When
ward stay the same. It’s the routine that must change. Mandy gets bored, she starts nibbling. Only when she
completely eradicates her nails does she feel a sense
It’s easy to spend a day or two implementing change. of completeness. Mandy’s therapist recommended
It’s more difficult, but much more lasting to incor- awareness training. Each time Mandy went to bite
porate that lifestyle change into an already formed her nails, he suggested she check a box on an index
habit loop. card. By being aware of her cue, Mandy would be
able to sense the moment to introduce a replace-
ment routine such as rapping her knuckles on a desk.
Each time she overrode the habit, Mandy made a
Cue + Good routine – Bad hash mark on the index card to fulfill her sense of
Lasting Success
PRINCIPLE ACTIVITY
You can’t extinguish a bad habit, you can only change What is the reward your bad habit gives you? List a
it. How it works: Use the same cue. Provide the same few possible activities that would fulfill the craving
reward. Change the routine. you are seeking to satiate, but in a healthier way:
Example: At the cue of hunger, change the routine Example: I watch television because I want to zone
for healthy food; get the reward of satisfaction. out after a hard day or work. But what if I took up
meditation instead?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
PERMANENT HABITS
QUESTION QUESTION
Who is the one person in your life that you most Who will keep you accountable?
look up to?
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Big Idea #5: Keystone Habits (Negative)
CHAIN REACTIONS
Keystone habits matter more than most habits be- One major keystone habit that may seem complete-
cause they cause a chain reaction, changing many ly ordinary, but may have the potential to transform
other habits in the process. your life—Gather around the dinner table every
night. Having family dinners can alter the trajecto-
By pinpointing one of these Keystone Habits, you ry of your children’s lives. A family meal emphasizes
can start a process that, over time, will transform togetherness, the chance to share stories and the
every other aspect of your life. opportunity to plan your collective future. Families
who eat together raise children with better home-
But first you must identify your keystone habits. work skills, higher grades, greater emotional control
Self-awareness, as usual, is the first step. and more confidence.
ACTIVITY ACTIVITY
Approach the problem like a scientist; do experi- Post a little note on your mirror: “Eliminate (insert
ments to focus on just one small habit change at a bad habit) to fix the rest.”
time, testing your hypotheses. Which bad habit will
have the most positive affect if eliminated?
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Big idea #6: Keystone Habits (Positive)
QUESTION QUESTION
Brainstorm five positive keystone habits that you see Is there a reward beyond making work easier that
in other people that make them much more produc- would incentivize my team to change their keystone
tive. habits?
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Big Idea #7: Small Wins
INCREMENTAL CHANGES
QUESTION EXERCISE
Can you think of a small success that did not make Break down your larger goal into small manageable
it onto your radar, but can be a touchstone when chunks. Plan rewards to incentivize you to reach
you’re faced with adversity? these milestones.
Example: Say you’d like to achieve success in your
small business. Set small goals to keep you motivated
to work hard at this goal daily. 1) Receiving your first
inquiry from a potential customer. 2) Getting your
first sale 3) Achieving your first income milestone 4)
Getting your first client referral, etc.
1. Small win:
Reward:
2. Small win:
Reward:
3. Small win:
Reward:
4. Small win:
Reward:
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Big Idea #8: Willpower
Willpower is the single most important keystone Duhigg recounts an experiment that measured will-
habit. It’s also a learnable skill that can be taught, but power. Two groups of students were locked away
keep in mind that willpower is just like a muscle. It with radishes and warm, chocolate chip cookies. One
can only be exerted a finite amount each day. group was allowed as many cookies as they liked.
The other could only eat the radishes. Both groups
Because willpower is a keystone habit, strengthening were confined there for a set amount of time. At the
that muscle in one aspect of your life will spill over end of the timeframe, they were given an unsolvable
into other areas. puzzle. The group only ate radishes spent much less
time trying to solve the puzzle than those that ate
cookies. Why? Their willpower was overexerted!
ACTIVITY QUESTION
Reflect on the last unhealthy choice you regretted. What is one task that you want to achieve tomor-
Was there a stressor that day that exerted the last row above all else?
of your willpower.
Example: Whenever I don’t eat well during the day,
I end up getting in a fight with my spouse. I know
it’s just because I’m hungry, and that I’ve had a hard
day’s work—so my patience and willpower are all
drained…
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Big idea #9: Habits in the Workplace
Creating successful organizations isn’t just a matter Duhigg recounts the story of Alcoa, a plant plagued
of balancing authority. For an organization to work, by on-site work injuries. When a new executive,
leaders must cultivate habits that both create a real O’Neill joined the company, he made his mission to
and balanced peace, and, paradoxically, make it abso- reduce the number of safety incidents to zero.While
lutely clear who’s in charge. safety statistics improved, inevitably an incident oc-
curred causing a young man’s death. O’Neil used this
Even destructive habits can be transformed by lead- crisis to pressure management to recommit to the
ers who know how to seize the right opportunities. company mission. He called an emergency meeting.
Sometimes, in the heat of a crisis, the right habits They painstakingly recreated the accident and re-
emerge. viewed security footage. He placed the blame on
everyone in the chain of command. He shook up his
entire team.
EXERCISE QUESTION
Focus less on your next business crisis and more How can you the possibility of such a crisis to make
on the change that will address the root cause of a lasting impression with your team?
the problem. What’s the one crisis that you want to
avoid above all else? Example: Think of a parent scolding their child when
they get into something dangerous. They may take it
a step too far, but that momentary shame will out-
weigh the peril the child could face if tempted to
revisit the dangerous activity.
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Big Idea #10: Conscious Change
Oftentimes, we know well in advance that something David Foster Wallace once addressed a graduat-
going on in our lives needs to change. That doesn’t ing class in 2005: “There are these two young fish
mean that we always follow through on our com- swimming along and they happen to meet an older
mitments to ourselves. We must make a conscious fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and
change. says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two
young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one
Simply understanding the habit loop and believing of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the
in yourself is not enough. You must choose your hell is water?’” The water is habits, the unthinking
destiny. choices and invisible decisions that surround us ev-
ery day—and which, just by looking at them, become
Don’t continue lying to yourself. Admit your faults. visible again.
Then make a change.
ACTIVITY EXERCISE
Ask a person close to you what you complain about Every time you find yourself starting to complain
most. Choose to change it. about that situation. Make a note of it. Plan and im-
plement a new habit routine for each notation.
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MY OWN NOTES
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MY OWN NOTES
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MY OWN NOTES
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MY OWN NOTES
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MY OWN NOTES
MY OWN NOTES
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MY OWN NOTES
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