I must think habits are the secret to everything we want to be and do! I have read my fair share of books about habits and I find everything about habits fascinating. I love reading about how habits are formed, how to break bad habits, how to develop new habits and how good habits can simplify my life!
Below are few of the books that I have read about habits.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
This book was very informative regarding—you guessed it—the power of habit! This book is not about what habits can do for you and your life but rather about what habits have done for others. Duhigg talks about how habits have helped some individual surpass seemingly impossible odds and, conversely, he talks about how habits have destroyed the lives of others. There is also a lot of discussion about how habits are made and what goes on inside our brains. Duhigg also discusses how habits can be used corporately to turn around entire institutions. If you are looking for a book that is a breakdown of habits, and how habits can change your life, this is a great book. However, if you are looking for help to develop and implement habit into your life then this book will not do a lot for you.
My takeaway: Habit is a large part of our lives whether we realize it or not. Habits can make or break individuals and companies.
Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Ms. Rubin breaks down four tendencies that are habit-related: why habit matters, how habits are formed, and how to most easily and effectively implement new habits into your life. She especially focuses in this book on how habit can give us freedom in our lives rather than restricting us. Habits are what we do without thinking about it. Habit takes away the need to make decisions and frees up mental space to allow for us to concentrate our efforts on what matters most to us. If you have had trouble developing new habits in the past give this book a try!
My takeaway: I really enjoyed how Reuben takes a look at habit through the framework of the four tendencies, and how our innate tendencies can inform how we approach forming habits. (To read about the four tendencies check out that post here)
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book examines the effect that small minute changes can have over a lifetime. Seemingly small inconsequential changes can add up and make a big difference over a lifetime. This book reminds me a lot of The Compound Effect as both stress the cup active effects of habit over a lifetime. Clear offers tips on how to develop and implement habits into your life, one little change at a time. He gives tips such as habit stacking, stacking a new habit onto an old habit, and the two-minute time cap—after two minutes of doing the new thing, you are done. This is how you can break down the obstacle of starting.
My takeaway: This book is full of tactical tools to help put new habits into place.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
While not exclusively about habit, this book is great because it stresses the fact that it is not the big things in life that make the biggest change in our lives but rather it is the small things. The little minute changes that you make day after day compound and make a big difference over a year or more. A lot of books on creating new habits can be overwhelming, but since this book stresses the importance of small wins, you can come away feeling encouraged by a small change that you made! (I also talk about The Compound Effect in my post, Books to help you build the life you want in 2021 click here to read about those books.)
My takeaway: This book reminds you of what a difference a minute change can make over a year, or lifetime!