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Quote by Charles Duhigg

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The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change

This book delves into the science behind habits, explaining how they are formed, why they are difficult to change, and how they influence our daily lives. It provides practical advice on how individuals can identify their habits, understand their triggers, and develop new, healthier habits to improve their lives. more

Author

Charles Duhigg
Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg is an American writer known for his insightful and engaging writing style, focusing on topics such as habits, focus, and decision-making in the fields of psychology and social science. Born in 1974, Duhigg graduated from Columbia University and has worked as a journalist for several renowned media organizations. more

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“Shampoo doesn’t have to foam, but we add foaming chemicals because people expect it each time they wash their hair. Same thing with laundry detergent. And toothpaste—now every company adds sodium laureth sulfate to make toothpaste foam more. There’s no cleaning benefit, but people feel better when there’s a bunch of suds around their mouth. Once the customer starts expecting that foam, the habit starts growing.”

“Companies aren’t families. They’re battlefields in a civil war. Yet despite this capacity for internecine warfare, most companies roll along relatively peacefully, year after year, because they have routines—habits—that create truces that allow everyone to set aside their rivalries long enough to get a day’s work done.”

“Then one day, we’ll put the reward in the old place, and put in the rat, and, by golloy, the old habit will rememerge right away. habits never really disappear. They’re encoded into the sturctures of our brain, and that’s a huge advantage for us, because it would be awful if we had to relearn how to drive after every vacation. The problem is that your brain can’t tell the difference between bad and good habits, and so if you have a bad one, it’s always lurking there, waiting for the right cues and rewards.”