The power of habit why we do what we do and how to change it

The entire first part of this book was completely fascinating. I was completely in love with the first significant chunk - about a man who loses his hippocampi in a traumatic accident, but still manages to go for walks around the block, make food and hold conversations about computers, all without being able to remember such details as where he lives or how old he is or what year it is. A Oliver Sacks-worthy story illustrating the power of habit in determining how we live.

Duhigg goes on from there to illustrate, using animal experiments in rodents and monkeys how habits are formed and how we can form good habits and extinguish bad ones. He perfectly balances practicality with intriguing science and anecdotes.

The latter two halves of the book spiral off in a multitude of directions. How is having willpower a habit? I'm not really sold. Some of his anecdotes read like they would belong better in Blink or the Tipping Point and it undermines the strong, consistent definition of a habit from the first third.

Also, some of my favorite parts of the book - the febreze model and the target/pregnancy story are available online on NPR & NYTimes magazine and excerpted on lifehacker. (I had read them prior to this and hoped that the rest of the book would be the same quality)

This is an excellent book that breaks down habits into the causes, the effects, and the abilities to change them. It provides numerous real life examples of how habits have helped people change their lives, and how habits have destroyed lives.

In addition to the causes and effects, it builds upon the message that habits can be changed. Better yet, it teaches you how to identify those habits AND how to change those habits for the better!

one example:
habit: you eat candy every day.
note: what happens right before you eat the candy?
result: you eat one every day at 10 am.
why?: it's likely you're hungry.
now what?: bring an apple to your desk. At 10 am, eat the apple. Same sugar fix, more filling and healthier option.
new habit: over time you'll stop going for the candy and start going for the apple.

This was an example from the book (summarized of course). Habits dont happen overnight. In fact, they can take months, or even years to implement. It is about sticking with those habits, analyzing the patterns from your bad habits and believing in yourself that you CAN change them!

I thought the book was really good at explaining the patterns that turn behaviors in to habits.

My only complaint is how the author interweaves the various examples throughout the book.

He will start one story and then move to another one before coming back to the first one. It took a few chapters to get used to the style.