Hmmm . . . Now That's A Habit!

I recently read The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg and it is definitely a book I have easily recommended to all of my friends. The book basically defines what a habit is, how they are created, how you can begin to change them, and how to make them stick. What I found that was interesting is how everything we do is a habit. The idea that we make solitary decisions on daily basis is false. Now at first I was a bit skeptical at this but then I thought about it. How easy was it just to go buy lunch while I was at work? I have wanted to bring my lunch consistently but it takes one day that I see the Chik-fil-a sign and it brings up the feeling of how easy it was just to roll through the drive through. Weeks later I find myself in a vicious cycle that has me spending excess money on food. So like an alcoholic, the first step in realizing that something is a habit is to knowing that it is a habit. This book opened my mind and made me aware of the simple things I did and once I did that, then I could devise a way to amend it into a habit that I wanted.

What I liked about this book was that it had so many real life examples that made something like changing my behavior adjustable. If she could do it, I could do it and so forth. Now believe me when I say I'm really not the one for self-help books. I'd prefer to submerse myself into a historical fiction book that placed me in the shoes of someone from another time and just take a break from real life. I was surprised when this book not only kept my attention, it had me continuous looking for ways I would want to improve my life and changes I could make to be the person I always longed to be. The hardest part of any changes you want to make in your life is sticking to the new habit. The book talks about ways that others have made changes stick. The success of AA is due to the amount of people you have with you and in support of you and your new habit . . . in place of the destructive one.

 

All in all, I was a fan of this book. It made me take a good look at myself and the behaviors I exhibited on a daily basis. Not everything I discovered was good as no one is perfect. I found that the convenience of just buying food was one of the things that I wanted to change. I meal prepped for a while yet found that I had slipped back into my old ways. I attempted making the bed in the morning to help me get to work on time . . . which worked for a while but without that focus I wasn’t able to keep my goals. Thinking about the book again, the most successful turn arounds for people are when they are super focused, borderline obsessed with their goals to make a change in their lives. The more people in the group you have trying to make the change with you, the more success you have. So I might reread the book to get my focus in order that I may find the niche in getting my life the way I want. I encourage you to do the same. Even if you don’t read the book . . . you’d be missing out, self-reflection is a good habit. It’s easy to lose yourself with all the crap we have to deal with on a daily basis. Like they say, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!