I want more

Where does The Power of Habit rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

it is probably in the top 10%

Any additional comments?

The book is such a tease!! hold on, it is probably not fair to say that. the book is really valuable it offers great insight into the mind and how it works, into how habits form. but I need more.

1) there is so much around us that take advantage of how habits form, in a way that is sometimes (in my view) unethical. it makes me question a lot of the marketing that takes place. also made me wonder who has access to my habits and how do they use it. SCARY

2) the book offers no recipe for change. it tells you change is possible, it tells you the ingredients of the habit which can be potentially used for affecting change but it still leaves you wondering how to portion out the ingredients. not intentionally but just because of the nature of habit and the nature of individuals and how divers they are. it makes me want more.

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Only stories, no evidence

This book is from beginning to the end an example for all kind of cognitive fallacies and biases.

Don't get me wrong:
I believe that most of the author's hypotheses are true. But, the author does a very poor job of showing convincing evidence for his hypotheses.

You encounter instead hindsight bias, availability bias, non-sequiturs and anecdotal evidence.

For example, the author gives several examples of success stories, like "CEO "x" was very successful. CEO "x" used to do "y". Therefore, doing "y" is the reason why CEO "x" was successful. "

What about all the other CEOs who did "y" but weren't successful?
What else did CEO "x" do? Maybe one of THOSE things also contributed to the success as well?

I found myself repeatedly saying: "You cannot conclude that from what you just told me!"

Only few examples are given, where a scientific approach and unbiased logic were used.


I also think, that some anecdotes lighten up the flow of a non-fiction-book.
But an entire book full of anecdotes?

Furthermore, most of the stories are soooo tedious. E.g. I had to fast forward the story about this coach guy....

Also, I found the narrator a little bit annoying: in my opinion there was too much over-emphasizing and dramatization.

Over all, I regret the time for listening to this book.

I give two stars instead of just one star, because the hypotheses shown in this book are very interesting.

35 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

anecdotal

Lots of anecdotes, little science.
I exoected more studies and actionable advice backe by science. instead its a collection of stories about alcoholics anonymous et cetera and the studies are sort of buried among all of those. but maybe that is your thing!

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Truly Life Changing

Any additional comments?

If you're reading this then chances are, you want to change something in your life. I've read self help books for years, some good, many terrible. This book stands head and shoulders above them all because the core concept of the book is a prerequisite for any other self help book to work.

In my opinion, anyone can write a self help book full of useful tips. You know the ones - "start with your outcome in mind, set goals, seek the advice of mentors, exercise in the morning, blah blah blah". Nothing wrong with any of that advice ..... other than the fact that so few people have the ability to follow it.

This book is the missing foundation. It's the platform that once in place will provide you the means to make successes of all the other self-help books out there (if you still need them that is).

And one more thing. Duhigg's methodology isn't really 'his' methodology. It relies on current research surrounding the triggers and rewards that make us do the things we do. It's refreshing to read a self-help book like this; one where the author forms his conclusions from empirical research instead of the all too frequent self help author who wakes us one day and writes a book about how much better our lives would be if we were self-disciplined.

9 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good book with interesting facts.

A must read to understand the nature of habits and habit forming and how to use it to our advantage.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Good storyline and performance

I love the way the author, Charles Duhigg, uses the power of parallel storylines to bring out key learning points. Well written with good examples.

Good performance by the narrator, Mike Chamberlain, to bring the right expression for each character.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Not what I expected.

While the book teaches the fundamentals of habits and in the end accomplishes what it promised to do, in my opinion the countless stories are not needed at all. It goes in great unnecessary detail and in the end the points made are the same. This book could have been half the pages it is and that might be an understatement! Do not purchase this if you're looking for a compact book that goes straight to the point. This could be great for people that want to learn more about habits while not being bombarded with complex terminology but rather digest the book through entertaining stories.

Overall it's not a bad book but definitely not for me since I feel it wasted more time than it taught me.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

What an amazing book! Wow!

Thanks Charles for the incredibly book. If you truly wish to learn about yourself/ system design then this book will keep you hooked!

Definitely read a summary of this book, not the book itself

This books is so rife with padding that the excellent lessons it contains get lost. I read a summary in about 30 mins, and it was fantastic. Don’t bother with the book.

The best book I've listened to this year

I loved. interesting throughout, a lot of insights into understanding human behaviour and how to mold it. Everything in the book is linked by a golden thread.