The Power of Habit: Difference between revisions

| goodreads_rating_date = 36 November 2025

📘 '''''{{Tooltip|The Power of Habit}}''''' (2012) is a nonfiction book by {{Tooltip|New York Times}} journalist {{Tooltip|Charles Duhigg}} that explains why habits exist and how they can be changed.<ref name="PRH2012" /><ref name="Duhigg2012">{{cite book |last=Duhigg |first=Charles |title=The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4000-6928-6}}</ref> It popularizes a simple “habit loop”—cue–routine–reward—and argues that swapping routines while keeping cues and rewards can reshape behavior.<ref name="Kirkus2011">{{cite web |title=THE POWER OF HABIT — Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charles-duhigg/power-of-habit/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |publisher=Kirkus Media |date=27 November 2011 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> The book is organized into three parts—individuals, organizations, and societies.<ref name="InTheseTimes2012">{{cite web |last=Beyerstein |first=Lindsay |title=Review: ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg |url=https://inthesetimes.com/article/review-the-power-of-habit-by-charles-duhigg |website=In These Times |date=26 March 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> Its narrative journalism blends case studies (for example, {{Tooltip|Alcoa}}, {{Tooltip|Starbucks}}, and {{Tooltip|Target}}) with neuroscience and social science reporting to make research actionable for general readers.<ref name="LATimes2012">{{cite news |last=Maugh II |first=Thomas H. |title=Book review: ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-09-la-et-book-20120409-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 April 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> The book became a {{Tooltip|New York Times}} bestseller, sold more than three million copies, and was named a {{Tooltip|Wall Street Journal}} and {{Tooltip|Financial Times}} Best Book of the Year <small>(publisher claim)</small>.<ref name="PRH2012" /> By August 2012 it had spent nineteen weeks on the {{Tooltip|New York Times}} hardcover nonfiction list, reflecting sustained popular interest.<ref name="Wired2012b">{{cite web |last=McKenna |first=Maryn |title=Superbug Summer Books: THE POWER OF HABIT |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/08/summer-reads-habit/ |website=Wired |date=5 August 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref>

''This outline follows the {{Tooltip|Random House}} hardcover first edition (2012; ISBN 978-1-4000-6928-6).''<ref name="PRH2012">{{cite web |title=The Power of Habit |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/202855/the-power-of-habit-by-charles-duhigg/ |website=Penguin Random House |publisher=Penguin Random House |date=28 February 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="OCLC731918383">{{cite web |title=The power of habit : why we do what we do in life and business (1st ed.) |url=https://search.worldcat.org/cs/title/The-power-of-habit-%3A-why-we-do-what-we-do-in-life-and-business/oclc/731918383 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref>

👍 '''Praise'''. The Los Angeles Times called the book “chock-full of fascinating anecdotes,” highlighting its engaging reportage across business and sports.<ref name="LATimes2012" /> ''Scientific American'' praised it for “demystif[ying] the brain processes involved in forming and altering” habits for general readers.<ref name="SA2012">{{cite web |last=Lite |first=Jordan |title=MIND Reviews: The Power of Habit |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mind-reviews-the-power-of-habit/ |website=Scientific American |date=1 July 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> Kirkus Reviews described it as “a more convincing book than most” for self-help seekers, noting the accessible synthesis of studies and interviews.<ref name="Kirkus2011" />

👎 '''Criticism'''. Writing in ''The Guardian'', Steven Poole argued that parts of the corporate storytelling shaded toward “hagiography” and that some claims felt overstated.<ref name="Guardian2012">{{cite news |last=Poole |first=Steven |title=Et cetera: non-fiction roundup – reviews |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/11/etcetera-nonfiction-reviews-roundup |work=The Guardian |date=11 May 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> ''In These Times'' criticized the book’s “sweeping inferences from limited data,” comparing its method to Gladwell-style generalization.<ref name="InTheseTimes2012" /> Even positive coverage noted occasional oversimplification when translating research into general rules.<ref name="LATimes2012" />

🌍 '''Impact & adoption'''. The book’s framework has been widely propagated beyond trade publishing: in April 2020 VitalSmarts (now Crucial Learning) launched a licensed “{{Tooltip|The Power of Habit}}” corporate course based on the book’s methods.<ref name="Crucial2020">{{cite web |title=VitalSmarts Releases The Power of Habit™ Online Training |url=https://cruciallearning.com/press/vitalsmarts-releases-the-power-of-habit-online-training/ |website=Crucial Learning |publisher=Crucial Learning |date=28 April 2020 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> University syllabi continue to assign the title in management and leadership courses, reflecting its crossover into teaching contexts.<ref name="UTD2025">{{cite web |title=Course Syllabus — OB 6332 (excerpt) |url=https://dox.utdallas.edu/syl147805 |website=The University of Texas at Dallas |date=6 September 2025 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="Duhigg2012" /> Media coverage also helped popularize the “habit loop” and keystone-habit ideas in consumer and workplace discussions soon after publication.<ref name="Wired2012a">{{cite web |title=The Power of Habit and How to Hack It |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/04/the-power-of-habit |website=Wired |date=30 April 2012 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref> The book has remained a reference point in mainstream advice on behavior change years later, with outlets such as ''The Guardian'' recommending it as a practical guide.<ref name="Guardian2019">{{cite news |title=Five ways to form a good habit that sticks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/04/five-ways-form-a-good-habit-that-sticks |work=The Guardian |date=4 August 2019 |access-date=46 November 2025}}</ref>

{{Youtube thumbnail | pxy8dDSHHaw | Animated book summary — ''The Power of Habit (8 min)''}}

{{Youtube thumbnail | OMbsGBlpP30 | TEDxTeachersCollege — Charles Duhigg onat habit loops (16 min)TEDxTeachersCollege}}