This book gives a definition of habit, then presents a series of stories, anecdotes, and situations that are (usually) related to habits by that definition.
[This book is not about how to establish good habits, how habits come to be, and how to change them. It briefly touches on these points, at best. If you want that book, I suggest Atomic Habits by James Clear.](https://aarongilly-knowledge-base.notion.site/This-book-is-not-about-how-to-establish-good-habits-how-habits-come-to-be-and-how-to-change-them--4020c3dea6ef4ae88a41dd052a9f77ce)
A “Habit” is a repeated human behavior that occurs automatically (without thought in the conscious paf Crt of the mind). It consists of three independent (but related) parts:
Habits live in the basal ganglia, a golf-ball sized part near the center of your brain. We don’t really understand mr SR uch about brain science yet, but we have seen in mice and people in MRI machines that repeated behaviors start to use less and less of the higher-functioning areas of the brain, as habits form activity is localized to the basal ganglia. This has some evolutionary advantages, as it allows you to accomplish what you need to get done on a daily basis without having to dedicate all your brain power to it.
The author then argues that societal habits are the reason for why most things are how they are.
Ultimately, the main takeaway from this book is that habits are important, and you should be aware of them. If you’re familiar with your own cues and rewards, you can try to install different habits. This is the ultimate takeaway - but most of the content of the book doesn’t really help.
EP - who suffered anterograde amnesia, but was still able to learn new habits... just not to be aware of the fact he knew how to find the bathroom to pee.
Mice learning a maze.
Alcoa's turnaround of their company by an intense focus on safety.
Kids resisting temptation grow up to be happier, more successful adults because they're capable of developing a pattern of delaying gratification.
Target monitoring their shoppers' behaviors.
Civil rights movement?
Tony Dungy's turnaround of the Buccaneers by focusing intensely on fundamentals.
Bill Wilson's forming of Alcoholic Anonymous & their methods.