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Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick

Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick

We spend a shocking 43% of our day doing things without thinking about them. That means that almost half of our actions aren't conscious choices but the result of our non-conscious mind nudging our body to act along learned behaviors. How we respond to the people around us; the way we conduct ourselves in a meeting; what we buy; when and how we exercise, eat, and drink — a truly remarkable number of things we do every day, regardless of their complexity, operate outside of our awareness. We do them automatically. We do them by habit. And yet, whenever we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on willpower. We keep turning to our conscious selves, hoping that our determination and intention will be enough to effect positive change. And that is why almost all of us fail. But what if you could harness the extraordinary power of your unconscious mind, which already determines so much of what you do, to truly reach your goals?

Wendy Wood draws on three decades of original research to explain the fascinating science of how we form habits, and offers the key to unlocking our habitual mind in order to make the changes we seek. A potent mix of neuroscience, case studies, and experiments conducted in her lab, Good Habits, Bad Habits is a comprehensive, accessible, and above all deeply practical book that will change the way you think about almost every aspect of your life. By explaining how our brains are wired to respond to rewards, receive cues from our surroundings, and shut down when faced with too much friction, Wood skillfully dissects habit formation, demonstrating how we can take advantage of this knowledge to form better habits. Her clear and incisive work shows why willpower alone is woefully inadequate when we're working toward building the life we truly want, and offers real hope for those who want to make positive change.

Author: Wendy Wood | Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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Rating: 4 / 5

I read this book as part of my subscription to The Next Big Idea Club, which is a quarterly book subscription of new big idea nonfiction titles curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink. So, while I was nervous that would be yet another book about building habits (that should probably have just been a TED Talk), I decided to give it a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised that this book did NOT feel like so many others that had come before it. The difference is really that Wendy Wood is an accomplished neuroscience researcher who also has a knack for translating her results into helpful, clear prose.

The first section of the book is heavy on neuroscience, explaining what habits really are and how they exist in the brain. The second section goes into four ways to control your habits, like adapting your setting strategically, and how to stack habits on top of each other. The final section goes into a bit of the ramifications of this research and offers more food for thought.

My only wish from this book is a bit more how-to. She does a great job of explaining why certain things do or do not work, but doesn’t really offer any sort of summary at the end of each chapter with a recap of the actual advice given or next steps to take in your own life. The result is a little bit of “Okay, but how do I actually DO that?” It’s in there, you just have to kind of hunt for it, so that’s what makes following her advice less straightforward than is typical in self-help books.

That being said, I did learn a TON and now have some plans to make changes to my own habits! So if you’re looking to build or kick a habit, definitely check this one out. It will have something there for you.

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