"A large part of virtue consists in good habits."
- William Paley
I read the above "quote of the day" on Forbes.com sometime last week. I wrote it down, since I thought it made sense. And today, after reading an article in the NY Times it started to make even more sense to me. The article, at least according to the headline, was about how Target targets your shopping habits in order to send you the right coupons at the right time.
However, the story could also simply be a great read about habits and how they control your life. According to the writer, also author of the book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, 45% of the choices we make are due to habits, rather than conscious decision-making.
Think about that for a while. It seems accurate, doesn't it? Why do you do what you do? Because you always consciously decide to do it or because you usually do it and know what the outcome of your actions will be? Do you often end up regretting your actions? Then it might be time for you to take control over your habits. It can be done, you just need to learn the three different stages of cues, routines and rewards.
A great read that made me think several things over. If I want change, I have to recognize the routine. If I want to break a routine, I have to replace it with a new one. The tricks are many. If you have a few minutes to spare, I highly encourage you to learn more. Here you go.
Hi
ReplyDeleteHarry made an important point about how hard it is to give up smoking. I couldn't stop either , til I started researching about the mind and how it gets addicted so easily. Seriously you can quit you just need a little help. Anyway I found this vid and it's free. Hope tghis helps someone else. http://tinyurl.com/FreeGregoryHypnosisVideo
Thank you
Thanks for sharing. I hope you managed to give up smoking. It is very true what you say, many of us just need a little help and some more understanding of how our minds work, to be able to give up bad, old habits.
Delete