BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Power of Habit

If you were to do the math, I have probably lost countless hours of my life to scrolling through social media; this is troubling. So one of my hopes for this year is to read more and scroll less. If you’re on the same page as me (pun very much intended!!!) with the goal to read more, I thought a Book of the Month series might be a good addition to That First Year. My hope for this series is that we, as a community, could come together and read good books and then suggest good books to others. Each month, I’ll share a book (or two—who knows—things might get wild!) that the TFY team is reading that month.

JANUARY BOOK OF THE MONTH:

The Power of Habit // Charles Duhigg

I didn’t know a book that is mostly science-based could make me cry, but I began this year weeping over just how cool the brain is; I don’t know if crying over the inner workings of the brain says something about my deeper emotional state, but here we are.

The Power of Habit explains, as you may have guessed from the title, the power of our habits—how habits are formed and how we can break bad habits to build new, healthy ones. It’s not a self-help “these are the 3 steps to creating a habit and living happily ever after” book nor is it a boring “this is SCIENCE” book. Author Charles Duhigg weaves both stories and research together in a way that makes me wish I could write half as well as him. I low-key hate football, but Duhigg manages to interest even me in a story of how understanding habits changed the nature of football, so that’s a victory in itself.

THE BASICS OF A HABIT.

“This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. … Eventually ... a habit is born.”

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

“But we know that for habits to permanently change, people must believe that change is feasible. The same process that makes AA so effective—the power of a group to teach individuals how to believe—happens whenever people come together to help one another change. Belief is easier when it occurs within a community.”

Though I’m only a few chapters into the book, I’ve already told just about everyone I’ve talked to that they simply must read it. That includes you: read this book!

>> If you’d like to read along with January’s Book of the Month, you can get your copy here!

Have you already read The Power of Habit?

What’d you think? Am I the only one crying over how cool the brain is? Leave your thoughts (and any confession of tears) in the comments below!

[Fun fact: when you order The Power of Habit from the Amazon links in this post, we receive a small sprinkling of change in return at no extra cost to you. This helps us take a step closer to our 2018 goal of creating a self-sustaining business to better support That First Year’s community of writers and readers. Wins all around!]

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P.S. We’re giving away this book + more for our Hello 2018 Dreams Giveaway!

HELLO 2018 DREAMS GIVEAWAY

In celebration of all things new (hey there, 2018), we’re offering one winner some gifts to help you finally go after those wild dreams on your heart.

THE GIFTS:

• $20 May Designs e-giftcard
• The Power of Habit book
• Windrose Magazine issue 1

>> Giveaway runs from Friday, January 5 through Tuesday, January 9 at 11:59 PM CST.

THE RULES:

• Only one entry per person.
• Must be 18+ years old.
• Must live in the United States. (Apologies to you beautiful TFY readers who live outside the U.S.)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED FOR ENTRIES.

Thank you to everyone who entered, and congrats to our winner, Christina!

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