Chapter 4 – The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
Chapter four begins with the idea that our brains pick up on cues without us even thinking about them. Clear states how this can be beneficial when one wants to integrate good habits, but detrimental when one is unknowingly engaging in bad habits. To take stock of current habits, he references a Pointing-and-Calling system used by Japanese railway system employees to point and call out their job responsibilities. Clear introduces a “Habit Scorecard” designed to do the same with one’s current habits.
A few related quotes:
- We underestimate how much our brains and bodies can do without thinking.
- As habits form, your actions come under the direction of your automatic and nonconscious mind.
- The more automatic a behavior becomes, the less likely we are to consciously think about it.
Chapter 5 – The Best Way to Start a New Habit
Clear shares the impact of “implementation intentions.” In a study on exercise, participants who wrote down when and where they were going to exercise more than doubled the normal success rate. A way to utilize implementation intentions is through “Habit stacking.” This is when you tie a desired habit to an already existing habit. If done correctly, Clear says these techniques adhere to his 1st Law of Behavior Change: Make it Obvious.
Quotes from the chapter:
- Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity.
- The goal is to make the time and location so obvious that, with enough repetition, you get an urge to do the right thing at the right time, even if you can’t say why.
Chapter 6 – Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More
This chapter starts with a discussion on how big of an influence eyesight has on one’s behavior. To take advantage of this, Clear recommends making sure one’s desired habits have cues that are obvious in the environment. He goes on to say that it’s ultimately the entire context in which cues are in that influence one’s behaviors. Clear recommends creating contexts in which habits occur easily.
Related quotes:
- Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.
- If you want to make a habit a big part of your life, make the cue a big part of your environment.
- If you want behaviors that are stable and predictable, you need an environment that is stable and predictable.
Chapter 7 – The Secret to Self-Control
Chapter 7 opens with a study on Vietnam soldiers. When Vietnam soldiers who were addicted to heroin returned home, they had a much higher success rate of stopping their addiction than is typical with addicts returning from rehab. Contrary to the belief that one needs strong discipline and willpower to break a bad habit, Clear recommends spending “less time in tempting situations.” Clear says, to break bad habits, one should inverse the 1st Law of Behavior Change and reduce exposure to cues triggering them.
A few related quotes:
- The people with the best self-control are typically the ones who need to use it the least.
- Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.
- Make the cues of your good habits obvious and the cues of your bad habits invisible.
Andrew T. Daniel 