10th Anniversary Edition of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
By Charles Duhigg
This winter, I participated in a mastermind group with a professional life coach. It was a fascinating deep dive into running my business and seeing where I’m limiting myself. It was terrific to have a group of other female founders and to be inspired by our organized and thoughtful leader.
There were many, many takeaways from our six months of work. And one small one was a bit of suggested reading. As I put into motion some of the larger ideas from our group’s work, I also promised myself I’d keep checking in on the themes.
“The will to believe is the most important ingredient in creating belief in change.”
Right Book, Right Moment
I picked this book up this summer as a bit of a jump-start for my busy season. As a writer who focuses on winter, my work starts ramping up each fall. By November, I’m off and running.
Like most self-help books, the BIG IDEAS in this book could easily be boiled down to a one-pager. But Duhigg does a fairly good job of weaving in real-life examples to bring best practices to life. From Michael Phelps to top military leaders to everyday people in the chokehold of addiction, the people are what bring the habits to life.
Before the most meaningful parts of the book are revealed, we have to sift through some science. The first part of the book is a bit of a snooze. The focus is on the science behind the inner workings of our brains. I admit that I glossed over the neurology of habit formation. I don’t think my work in neuroscience is going to take off in the next decade or two. What I was after was seeing how people mentally change and form lasting, healthy habits.
“Habits can be changed if we understand how they work.”
This part is true, but it’s not the brain science we need to grasp—it’s the behavioral science. If we understand our triggers and weaknesses, we’ve got a shot at change. But the most important first step is believing in your own agency and free will.
“If you believe you can change—if you make it a habit—the change becomes real.”
While there’s not a particularly bad habit I’m trying to break right now, I would like to spend more time on creative pursuits and whittle down my screen time. For me, this means making my phone less available at certain times of the day and making my creative outlets easier to access.
I wanted to know the practical ways to set myself up for success. What I learned is the replacement theory—and how to recognize the cue that often leads to the behavior I’m trying to break.
For me, it’s the small gaps of time in my day. Waiting for a load of laundry to finish. Being on hold for a work call. Or finishing a hard task that requires deep thought and concentration. The cue is often the end of something difficult. The reward is a bit of screen time to check my Substack stats, play an online game, or head to Instagram (less and less appealing lately).
I can feel my mind taking a break, and that feels good. I’m not the one having to search for words or meaning. I can relax.
But the same feeling can be achieved by reading, embroidery, or a short walk with my dog. I’m trying to replace online relaxation with offline relaxation. For this type of habit, I don’t need a large group. I need practical solutions.
Changing Habits on a Larger Scale
That brings us to the second part of the book.
Scaling change is a much larger challenge. Here, we’re looking at something like getting a large group of people to spend more time offline (and my personal inclination would be to get them out to the mountains). Ultimately, Duhigg scales his ideas even wider, looking at how we change the habits of society. And that is a tough one. But let’s start small first.
“For a habit to stay changed, people must believe change is possible. And most often, that belief only emerges with the help of a group.”
Duhigg writes a lot about the practices of Alcoholics Anonymous. He tells the story of its founder and explores how AA uses replacement as a means of forming new, healthier habits. Giving oneself over to a higher power becomes part of what fills the void left by alcohol or other addictive substances.
In addition to having a crutch to lean on, Duhigg talks about the power of community. Once the addict admits to powerlessness, the support of the group can work its magic. The power of a small group of people trying to change TOGETHER is part of why AA can succeed where other approaches fail.
When we surround ourselves with others who have similar goals, making change is a heck of a lot easier. A less intense example: If you want to snack less at work and get in your steps, find a work buddy to walk with during lunch.
The Big Ideas
While individual change was what I initially sought from this book, something else became the big takeaway. Through Duhigg’s writing, I see the power of a group or organization to impact change on a larger scale.
“A movement starts because of the social habits of friendship and the strong ties of close acquaintances.
It grows because of the habits of a community, and the weak ties that hold neighborhoods and clans together.
And it endures because a movement’s leaders give participants new habits that create a fresh sense of identity and a feeling of ownership.”
This means a group of concerned parents can come together with the aim of helping families, schools, and society spend less time online. It can start with a personal goal to be offline more and be more present for your family. It can grow by finding friends who share this goal. From there, the group can become a movement.
“Movements don’t emerge because everyone suddenly decides to face the same direction at once. They rely on social patterns that begin as the habits of friendship, grow through the habits of communities, and are sustained by the new habits that change participants’ sense of self.”
Final Thoughts
No, this book probably won’t change your life. But it will reinforce some of the ways we can build lives of purpose and meaning through better choices and more mindful behavioral patterns.
These smart habit books (of which there are many) are a reminder that we CAN change. We are not passive bots reliant upon the universe to show us which direction to head. We can make changes, put down bad habits, and move forward with intention and hope.
The Power of Habit is particularly useful if you’re interested in understanding not just how to start a better habit, but why certain behaviors become automatic in the first place. Some sections feel more relevant than others, but Duhigg’s stories make the behavioral science accessible—and his exploration of how individual habits can grow into community-wide change gave me much more to think about than I expected.
One-line takeaway: The Power of Habit is a reminder that meaningful change starts with understanding the patterns we repeat—and believing we have the power to rewrite them.
For fans of: Atomic Habits, Better Than Before, behavioral psychology, personal development, productivity books, and anyone trying to spend a little less time on their phone.
Where I read it: During the summer, as I geared up for my busiest season of the year and thought about which habits I wanted to bring with me into fall.
You can find this—and everything else I’m reading this year—on my running 2026 book list.
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