735: The Best Ways to Rewrite Bad Habits w/ Charles Duhigg

Building a new habit can be difficult if you approach it with the wrong tools and misinformation, but what does the science tell us about forming new habits, what are the right tools you need when it comes to successful habit building, and what can you start doing today to make sure you’re not getting in your own way?

What to Listen For

• Why is the community you surround yourself with so important to the development of new habits and the perpetuation of bad ones?
• Charles Duhigg explains why standard to-do lists are terrible for productivity and what an effective replacement looks like
• What is the habit loop and how can you use the knowledge of it to change any habit you want?
• How can you use the science of small wins to start making changes to your habits immediately?
• What are some tricks you can use to stay motivated when building a new habit or breaking an old one?
• How are intentional choices related to motivation when it comes to the psychology of routine and satisfaction?
• Why is it almost impossible to “break” a habit and what should we do instead if we want to get rid of bad habits?
• How can you determine the cues of bad habits so you can take them into account and prevent the bad habits from being triggered in the first place?
• Charles Duhigg explains the one thing ex-smokers do that stops them from relapsing
• What are mental models and how is our ability to create them directly related to our success in life?

Many of us are led to believe the formation of new habits is accomplished through a brute force approach via willpower, aka that it is entirely internal. However, the science behind habit building says otherwise - our external environment and the people around us play a significant role.

If you build an environment conducive to success it becomes infinitely easier to develop new habits and replace old ones. This can mean anything from identifying the cues that trigger bad habits and removing them, or replacing the bad habit with a good one. It can also mean surrounding yourself with a community that focuses on the habit you’re trying to build - for example, joining a weekly meetup group for writers instead of relying on your own willpower to sit down and write consistently.

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Resources from this Episode

"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

“Smart Faster Better” by Charles Duhigg

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