Power Of Habit Essay

Habits can be changed

Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, acknowledges how habits control our daily lives in every decision we make. For Instance, an ambitious woman named Lisa Allen, has not always had a fruitful life. Previously, she had abused her body with harmful toxins such as tobacco and alcohol since the beginning of her teenage years. Carrying out these habits everyday resulted her into being unmotivated and unconfident. In fact, she never kept a job longer than a year and began to fall into major debt. “She needed a goal in her life, she thought. Something to work toward” (xii-xiv). It begins with the “three-step loop” a cue that triggers our brain to do the habit. Next a routine, a set of actions that are either physical or mental. Finally a reward of satisfaction that determines whether or not this habit will be continuous (19). Not all habits can be good, but this is where the golden rule applies. Duhigg explains that in order for you to change your habit “ you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine”(62). “However, simply understanding how habits work- learning the structure of the habit loop makes them easier to control”( 20). Reading The Power of Habit, helped me understand the process by which I made a positive change to fight procrastination.

One poor habit that I happen to share with most college/ high school students in particular is procrastination. This curse of pushing off my work led me to a lower GPA in high school than I really should have gotten. It wasn't because that I didn’t understand my classes; it was just the lack of time and effort I put into them. Not only did prolonging my work affect my grades, but it also altered my life. In fact, procrastination led me to not reaching my goals such as going straight to a four year college. Sadly, this trapped me into showing no great