5 Books on Habit

Welcome to our list of habit books.

Habits refer to all the behaviours we perform without giving them too much thought – these are the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day. Your morning coffee, shower routine, exercise, meditation, reading, checking social media, folding clothes a certain way, etc etc. These are habits. Did you know, according to researchers at Duke University, habits account for about 40 per cent of our behaviours on any given day?

Habits seem so simple but are very defining of your personality and life. Your life today is essentially the sum of your habits. And your life tomorrow is the outcome of your habits. How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are? A result of your habits. What you repeatedly do ultimately form the person you are, the things you believe, and the personality you portray. From procrastination and productivity to strength and nutrition, everything starts with better habits. When you learn to transform your habits, you can transform your life.

Habit books are self-help guides on how to instil healthy and productive behaviours. The books in these lists cover topics such as beating procrastination, forming routines, and utilizing time. The purpose of these guides is to help reader becomes more consistently productive.

So, here are our top 5 books on habit-building:

• The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

“The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” — Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit applies a scientific lens to the concept of habit. Relying on research and case studies, NY Times reporter Charles Duhigg gives you a bit of insight into how exactly habits work and how they can be changed. The book consists of three parts and analyzes the habits of individuals, successful organizations, and societies. Instead of laying out step-by-step instructions for changing personal behaviours, this book shares observations and analyses that help readers gain a better understanding of habits to use as a foundation of change. Starting or breaking a habit might be difficult, but knowing exactly how and why they are formed can save us a lot of time and give us a lot of control.

• Atomic Habits – James Clear

Atomic Habits is one of the best habit-forming and habit-changing books. Often faulty systems are to blame for a failure to break bad habits and make good habits. The book explains that the most effective way to change our behaviours for the better is to hence manipulate our surroundings so that bad habits are hard and good habits are effortless. Another important thing is that to build life-long behaviours, we must form new habits slowly and in small increments. Instead of setting up too-large, unreasonable and unachievable goals when starting out, we should allow tiny actions and progresses to add up over time. The book contains an impressive number of both examples and steps you can take when it comes to building habits.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most popular books on habits. Stephen Covey identifies patterns of behaviour that differentiate high achievers from the average Joe. Successful individuals make habits of seven similar behaviours, such as proactivity and goal-setting. The chapters explore each of the seven habits in-depth and give tips on how you can incorporate them into your own life with examples.

We tend to overlook simple things and complicate them. Stephen tries to make us understand that it is the basic things that are the key to our success.

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.”

• High Performance Habits – Brendon Burchard

Brendon Burchard has been the highest-paid performance coach for over a decade. This book is a case study of sustained success. Based on one of the largest surveys ever conducted on high performers, there are 6 habits that prove to be the most effective; Seek clarity

• Generate energy
• Raise necessity
• Increase productivity
• Develop influence
• Demonstrate courage

Brendon Burchard explores and helps us understand what sparks ambition and motivation, how some people achieve faster and long-lasting results, and why some are happier than others in grinding and working. The chapters explore each of these habits in much detail, with illustrations of leaders who exhibit these qualities. Whether you want to get more work done, become a better leader, learn a skill faster or dramatically increase your sense of joy and confidence, the habits in this book will help you.

“Be more intentional about who you want to become. Have a vision beyond your current circumstances. Imagine your best future self, and start acting like that person today.”

• Tiny Habits – B.J. Fogg

Things get really chaotic sometimes and have a greater effect than imagined on us. Change is not an easy process. There are a lot of elements that form it. The main focus of this book is on “breaking” a habit into a set of “little habits”. Drawing on two decades of research and coaching, B.J. Fogg teaches you how to make big changes in small steps. He presents a system that tackles behaviour shifts in increments. These small habits involve less risk and ease you into new lifestyles instead of unloading stress on you. But these small behaviours add up over time and turn into big results.

 “In order to design successful habits and change your behaviours, you should do three things. Stop judging yourself. Take your aspirations and break them down into tiny behaviours. Embrace mistakes as discoveries and use them to move forward.”

Conclusion:

Change is hard; change in behaviour is more so. We all have a way of life. Our busy schedules and the way we think sometimes get in our way of a better life. Many of us try and fail to change our habits because we do not fully understand the science behind these behavioural patterns. Learning how to deal with self-control, understanding our habits and taking small but consistent steps to help us get past failure. These books help you with that. Remember, discipline forms habits. Habits form consistency. And consistency drives results.

Get these books from Books Mandala.