The Best Books To Read To Change Your Habits
Looking for the best books on habits to change your life? Here are 5 of the best books on habits that will help you break bad habits, build good habits, and achieve your goals.
If you’ve ever struggled with keeping a healthy diet, exercising, getting up early, being more mindful, more sociable, etc. — you know how it feels when the year is over and your New Year’s resolutions go out the window and the vicious circle starts over again. Habits can be very powerful things, they can shape our lives for better or for worse — they are so powerful, in fact, people spend their whole lives without being able to break them. However, there are numerous brilliant books on habits that agree on one thing — you don’t need to break your habits to change them, but rather tweak and adjust your cues to create new habits that will replace your old ones. That makes it a whole lot easier to get into this habit-building game, doesn’t it?
As a serial procrastinator, I’ve had my own struggles with breaking and changing bad habits. It took me TWO YEARS to change just one habit, going to bed and getting up early.
For years I believed that I’m a night owl and there is no power in this world to change that and make me an early bird. But through my experience reading, researching, and trying out new techniques, I’ve come up with this list of books that made the most impact or worked best for me.
For me results speak for themselves — I’m healthiest, happiest, and most confident than I’ve ever been in my life. I guarantee that if one of these books doesn’t work for you, another most certainly will. The range and absolute treasury of information you’ll find in each one are worth every minute of your time.
Here are 5 best books you’ll find on habits (links included):
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
These books offer a variety of perspectives on habits and how to change them. They’re packed with practical advice that you can use to break, change or improve your habits.
You surely heard of this one, it’s become a buzz word and for a good reason. Atomic Habits by James Clear has sold over 10 million copies and changed millions of lives since it was published. This book is about learning the science behind habit formation. Clear explains how habits are formed and how they can be changed through a system of small changes and adjustments that will yield great results in the long run.
“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is one of my favorites, it’s a classic and the first book I’ve read on habits — it blew my mind with its real-life stories that explore human nature and its potential. The Power of Habit is an essential manual for anyone who is looking for a book explaining the science behind habit forming and the principles that guide them. Behind his habit loop, a neurological process that drives habits, Duhigg expertly explains and showcases our deep flaws through a number of studies and real-life stories to illustrate the power of the habit loop and how to break it to form new habits.
“First, find a simple and obvious cue. Second, clearly define the rewards.”
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is a classic and one of the most impactful books ever written. Written nearly three decades ago it still captivates and transforms its readers to this day. CEOs, professionals of all trades, parents, and educators have used been using the principles from this book to educate a new generation of leaders. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or techniques to better your life this book will suit every reader. Covey’s seven habits for success will teach you all about developing the habits that will help you achieve your goals and live a more fulfilling life.
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
If you want to break habits without sacrificing a lot, Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg is your top choice. Written by a habit expert from Stanford University and based on 20 years of research, BJ Fogg shares his breakthrough method of habit-building that is fast and easy. With every passing chapter, you’ll learn more about habit formation and tiny changes that will help you break the cycle and lead to small victories. Fogg’s method is simple — start with a tiny habit that you can easily do, and then gradually increase the size of the habit over time.
“With the Tiny Habits method, you focus on small actions that you can do in less than thirty seconds.”
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise was a recommendation from a friend, a tried method that is similar to Fogg’s, but Guise is more focused on making the habit so small that it’s impossible to fail. Guise’s method of a mini habit is a tiny positive intentional behavior that is easy to add to your routine and which leads to inevitable lasting change. If you want to start small, this is the perfect book to start with.
“The only way to create habits is to teach the rest of your brain to like what the prefrontal cortex wants.”
These are just a few of a great number of books on habits. If you’re looking to improve your habits, I encourage you to check out one of these books. They can help you understand the science of habit formation and provide you with the tools you need to change your habits for the better you.