Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Prologue [The Power of Habit]

Haley Scholars Spring 2013 Reading Groups 

By Danielle Hall

In the prologue section of The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg ushers readers into the world of patterned behavior. Drawing largely from scientific research, interviews, and academic studies, Duhigg discusses the notion of how changing just one habit in our daily routine has the power to not only shift, but to transform other aspects and routines in our daily lives.

At one point, Duhigg tells of how a U.S. army major stationed in Kufa, Iraq, recognized the significance of understanding both personal and organizational habits and how they impact one's daily life (xix). The army major suggests that it’s necessary to “create triggers” in order to develop a routine or habit.

Based on the prologue, what was one idea or scene concerning “habit formation” that drew your interest? Why or how so? 

6 comments:

Shakita H. said...

In the beginning when Lisa said that she had stopped smoking, this scene was interesting to me because since she changed a habit of her's, she has lost weight, obtained a degree, and has a home. This shows that by that one change of her habit, it transformed her life into something better and many positive things happened after that.

Jessica L.W. said...

A scene that drew my interest was the one that talked about Lisa Allen. Lisa was once obese, in debt, and a smoker. Lisa was able to transform her life by making one small shift in her life. Lisa decided to stop smoking which was the initiation of a series of other changes that made an impact on her life. The research the scientists’ had gathered from her brain scans interested me because it was a thorough biological explanation of how specific regions of the brain control certain activities.

Jasmine said...

The scene that caught my interest the most was definitely the scene pertaining to Lisa Allen. I thought it was very interesting that she had made such a substantial turn around just from making the one decision to stop smoking. That one good decision led to many more.

It was also interesting when her brain was examined, the side that controlled things like food cravings was still in full effect, but the side that resisted temptation had become much stronger.

Lisa Allen's case was proof that good decisions are like a domino effect. When she seriously put her foot down and decided to stop smoking, she began to exercise, then she began to eat better, and she became a healthier, happier person.

Kizzy Hopkins said...

I was most intrigued by the army major who was able to redirect violence into peace by identifing habitual triggers.
Moreover, by understanding that social-order is a sequence of habits organized by people's patterns can enable a balanced country.
Lisa Allen provived great empirical evidence of what happens when one person re-organize their habits of self-destruction into self-wellness.
Now lets us all imagine what the world would look like if we re-organized society's patterns of inequality by changing our pyschological habits.

Tia Borders Baptist said...

THe one part that drew me in to this boook was Lisa. She did something that is very difficult to do which was stop smoking. And with her breaking this habit she was able to accomplish other goals such as lose weight and get out of debt. Only thing that was crazy to me was that when people usually stop smoking they gain weight. But i guess she was really dedicated to losing weight. She definately inspire me to change some of my habit that may have domino affect on somethings in my life.

Hilary Conrad said...

The part in the prologue that drew my attention the most was definitely the story about Lisa Allen. Being a community health major and a psychology minor, these kinds of stories interest me.

Lisa knew that she wanted to change her smoking habit, so she found other activities to keep her mind off of smoking. So far, the prologue has inspired me to focus on some of my habits that I have always wanted to change.