Book review
Audiobook
Listening time approximately 11 hours
Self help motivational book
No spoilers but note, if you are planning to skip the book then the review is a summary and if you do plan to read in the future then it’s a preview of what’s in store for you! Either ways you will not be disappointed…
Rating- 5/5 for the attempt but depends on your mood
It starts with the description of Habit loop and the Craving brain and the golden rule of habit change. But finally the whole book gives examples from the life and episodes of people from all all walks of life and this is probably the best part of the book!
If you want to hear inspiring stories then this is the book for you but having read the heading and you want to change your habit then you can just jump to the end of the book or move on to the next book in the series on how to change your habit to make a difference!
The atomic habits book by James Clear is also like an unofficial sequel to this book so you might want to read that after this and see how the habits are used to make changes! That book takes the whole methodology one step forward with the whole loop and reward.
The book starts with the story of Lisa Allen who now fit and trim was previously an addict and obese individual. He then introduces a term called the keystone habit.
The book is apparently divided into three parts, the first deals with how habits emerge within individuals life, the second deals with habits of successful companies and organisations and finally the third part deals with the habits of society!
The book draws the information from hundreds of academic studies, interviews with more than three hundred scientists and executives and research conducted at dozens of companies.
Then he narrates an interesting story (which is plenty in the book!) of how an officer stopped or prevented a riot in Iraq by simply moving the food carts!
Then he moves on to the this person called EP and how after an encephalitis episode loses his sense but then his habit takes over and here the author gives introduction about Basal Ganglia.
Then he gives an amazing account of how the successful ad campaigner Claude C Hopkins made toothpaste a national and international phenomenon! How the after taste is like the reward in the habit loop of cue, routine and reward!
He then moves on to the story of Febreze and how it finally became a worldwide phenomenon with habit modification!
He also mentions about the golden rule of habit exchange! Where you must replace one habit with another!
He then explains about basic behaviour habit loop developed by the coach Dungy and how that leads finally to great victory!
The same with programs such as Alcoholic anonymous and their apparent consistent success! They also talk about Mandy and her compulsive nail biting! How the basic habit routine and modification and plan gets the work done!
A big part of the book was about Paul O Neill , the new CEO of Alcoa and how his adhrence to safety made a domino effect! One thing lead to another and profits soared much to the amazement of everyone! How he takes responsibilities, makes everyone embolden enough to come to him or their superiors with ideas!
He also talks about the tough childhood faced by Michael Phelps and how he made his challenges his strength and how he has a habit and how it always helps him especially once when his goggles malfunctioned but his habit made him create a world record even if he was not able to see!
Another success story is narrated of a worker and owner of Starbucks and how their training program is one of the best in the world!
These success stories are consistent and finally relegated to habit modification!
The next two episodes were of a hospital in Rhode Island and an underground rail network where every department were under water shed lines and how it gets better when changes are implemented.
He also mentions about how companies like Target and others monitor your buying habits and make a profile of you rather accurately!
So accurate that it’s scary!
The next part of the book is how they made a song famous by inserting in better recall worthy songs!
The next story is about Saddleback Church and the habits designed by the clergy which the author equates to Rosa Parks famous bus boycott incident and Martin Luther King’s rise to fame!
How movements happen by habit changes!
The author then narrates two cases where one husband kills his wife due to automatism and one wife loses control of her gambling addiction.
Finally the book tells how to change your habit from undesirable to good!
This is like an extension of the Atomic habit loop.
You must first identify the routine, then experiment with rewards, isolate the cue and have a plan!
With the advent of audio books, these non fiction books are a breeze! The stories are so real and of course in between it does get repetitive but then once you get used to the flow, it is really nice!
The next book in the series is also by Charles and my optimistic guess is that it is the step two! Lets get back to that in another 10 hours of listening time! Till then try this!
As they say habit, a bit always remains!
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