Old conventions change slowly. For instance, severe social problems—religious groups’ pessimistic perspective on homosexuality or people’s unregenerate perspective of racism—cannot change within a few years. Likewise, old habits never go away from people’s unconscious routines, same as crumpling up a piece of paper with one hand. When most people believe that breaking habits is as hard as breaking a rock with a drop of water, Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit, claims that habits can be changed if people understand how they work (xvii). Throughout the book, Duhigg focuses on a circulation of habit loop with three steps explaining why and how habits are happening; he also explains how to find the problem and then change the habit.
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According to Duhigg, almost every habit follows the same habit loop from people’s brains. First, a cue tells their brain to go into automatic mode and which habits to use (19). For example, when I find a small mistake—a cue of my habit—from my notes, my brain automatically accepts that as a major problem. Then, it leads me to think my notes are so messy that I cannot concentrate on my study. The next stage of habit loop is a routine; it can be physical, mental, or emotional behaviors that make people desire (19). Specifically, after I recognize the fact that my notes look too messy, I cannot leave my notes with dirty handwriting. Then, I cannot control myself to take off the page from the notes, throw it away, and start to write on a new page. At the end of the habit loop, people finally get their rewards from habits: a reward that helps their brains figure out if their particular loops are worth remembering for the future (19). For instance, the final reward that I gain for starting to write over again is clean and well-organized notes. Not only neat handwriting encourages me to concentrate on my study, but also it gives me a sense of satisfaction for creating pretty-looking notes. This reward leads me to do the same action over again whenever I write wrong words or wrong information from the lecture. Ultimately, by recognizing what is my cue, routine, and reward for my …show more content…
What it means is that even though people succeed to change their routines, if they do not believe in themselves for the changes that they have made, their habit loops will eventually fall apart into piece by piece and then come up with their old routines again. “It is belief itself that makes a difference,” Duhigg explains. Believing the routine that people have changed is the main source of power to keep the new habit behavior permanently. Trying to believe the fact that new routines will change habits is also the most important matters for people who want to keep their new habit loops. For instance, when I decide to change my habit routine, I start to change my mind thinking that sometimes misspelling the words or sentences can happen in daily situation, and sometimes writing the letters unevenly can happen. It does not matter whether I take down notes with my hands or my laptop. The only thing I will eventually care about is how many clear points that my notes have from lectures and how my notes are well-organized. Moreover, to believe that the way of typing notes on the computer will change my habit is as much as important; believing myself that I can change my habit on my own routine is the key source that keeps my habit loop continuously. In brief, with believing myself that I can change
According to Duhigg, almost every habit follows the same habit loop from people’s brains. First, a cue tells their brain to go into automatic mode and which habits to use (19). For example, when I find a small mistake—a cue of my habit—from my notes, my brain automatically accepts that as a major problem. Then, it leads me to think my notes are so messy that I cannot concentrate on my study. The next stage of habit loop is a routine; it can be physical, mental, or emotional behaviors that make people desire (19). Specifically, after I recognize the fact that my notes look too messy, I cannot leave my notes with dirty handwriting. Then, I cannot control myself to take off the page from the notes, throw it away, and start to write on a new page. At the end of the habit loop, people finally get their rewards from habits: a reward that helps their brains figure out if their particular loops are worth remembering for the future (19). For instance, the final reward that I gain for starting to write over again is clean and well-organized notes. Not only neat handwriting encourages me to concentrate on my study, but also it gives me a sense of satisfaction for creating pretty-looking notes. This reward leads me to do the same action over again whenever I write wrong words or wrong information from the lecture. Ultimately, by recognizing what is my cue, routine, and reward for my …show more content…
What it means is that even though people succeed to change their routines, if they do not believe in themselves for the changes that they have made, their habit loops will eventually fall apart into piece by piece and then come up with their old routines again. “It is belief itself that makes a difference,” Duhigg explains. Believing the routine that people have changed is the main source of power to keep the new habit behavior permanently. Trying to believe the fact that new routines will change habits is also the most important matters for people who want to keep their new habit loops. For instance, when I decide to change my habit routine, I start to change my mind thinking that sometimes misspelling the words or sentences can happen in daily situation, and sometimes writing the letters unevenly can happen. It does not matter whether I take down notes with my hands or my laptop. The only thing I will eventually care about is how many clear points that my notes have from lectures and how my notes are well-organized. Moreover, to believe that the way of typing notes on the computer will change my habit is as much as important; believing myself that I can change my habit on my own routine is the key source that keeps my habit loop continuously. In brief, with believing myself that I can change