The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Looked at as one of the best books for creating success within our lives, this book was recommended by a few different people to me. I thought that there might be more I could learn about habits and disciplines — especially as my nightly 20 pages of reading has not been as consistent in 2019 as it was in 2018.

The first highlight of this book was something that I was well-accustomed to and have done for myself before and continue to do for myself. The difficulty here, with defining rewards, is that sometimes there is not a specific external reward — so we must create an internal reward for ourselves. Some people are motivated by traveling and a reward that motivates them might be a nice trip to Greece. For me, a job well done is the motivation.

Find a simple and obvious cue and clearly define the rewards.

This is one of the reasons that people who quit smoking are often seen eating chips or some other snack rather than smoking. They are replacing a craving with another. There have been experiments and practices that people have done that work with people who desire to stop biting their nails. They are taught to recognize each time that they desire to cut their nails and then to identify what they are doing, thinking, and feeling in that situation. I believe that this is the best way to create habits. Before I buy something new I…