13. The Power of Habit - Thoughts I

Every book creates positive or negative impressions. I am not bothered by a book presenting either. What is important to me is the inspiring of critical thought and the challenging of my current believes. The Power of Habit is surely accomplishing the former because I am drawing on my knowledge and experience to deeply examine premise put forth in the book. The following is a short discussion on my thoughts of the principles of habit formation and creation presented in the book thus far.

 

The Golden Rule is to maintain a cue and a reward for a habit, but insert a new routine into this reward loop to be reinforced to the point it becomes a habit. In so doing, one removes an undesired habit or routine and replaces it with the desired behaviours. What of rewards such as a smoothie after working out. If one is not truly motivated by the endorphins created from working out or the progress one experiences in getting fit, then this reward seems of little value. Why not just skip working out and go have a smoothie.

 

This thought touches on another I have been pondering. Some of the powerful rewards mentioned in the book are the feeling of satisfaction when cleaning, the feeling of a clean mouth after brushing ones' teeth. These feelings are intrinsic motivators influencing behaviour. How powerful are the external motivators in this reward loop?

 

The creation of competitive routines to supplant existing routines is a vital decision. The book suggests replacing smoking with coffee. In reading the book, it does not feel as this is purely an example. Coffee to me, could end up being another damaging habit that could easily be combined with smoking. This either exposes or downplays the critical need for choosing a competitive routine that is not detrimental to your well being or business success.

 

According to the book we can create habits for completing incredible complex tasks. For instance the act of driving a car. However, can we create habits for incredibly dynamic tasks such as sales. There is no one set of habits that results in success, there is no one pathway to secure a sales. It a complex array of moving parts that, unlike a car, change in their functions and motivations every time you get in.

Feel welcome to chime in any thoughts you might have  - the more the merrier.