The power of habit

In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg 

takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how 

they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of 

information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of 

human nature and its potential for transformation.

Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years 

of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where 

neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We 

discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael 

Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go 

inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, NFL locker 

rooms, and the nation's largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone 

habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising 

regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building 

revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding 

how habits work.

Habits aren't destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can 

transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.