Sunday Collection: 5 Books Every Black Man Should Read Before 25
#2 The Power of Habit
Welcome to The Sunday Collection
Every Sunday, we’ll be highlighting a book from a collection of books we think will help you strive forward in life.
We’re starting with five books every black man should read before 25.
Our first book was on Malcolm X; read it here.
Let’s begin.
Book #2: The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
What you do every day is what defines you.
Something we know but also don't.
Can you tell me everything you did yesterday from 9 am to 9 pm? Maybe?
The day before that, and that too?
Tell me in detail.
You can't because a lot of our daily rituals become nearly automatic to us.
It's what we expect to do and don't think about it at that moment.
This is what the power of habit is.
Why should young black men read this book?
Habits are the bedrock for future success.
One that is happening at an accelerating rate at the moment.
We want to be a generation of leaders.
While we're going online faster than ever, we have to remember how so much of what we do has become automatic.
We bear the burden of figuring out how to use technology for our own good, and this book gives us a direction of understanding when it comes to the influence of habits.
We deal with a lot of cues in society.
About who we should be, what data tells us about ourselves, how we act affects the world, and what should be done with us.
Letting that sink into our subconscious leaves many of us bitter and resentful towards life.
To be shafted is one thing, but to be collectively ignored and belittled creates animosity towards the situation we are in.
When this feeling comes, from wherever it comes, the routine you take is what can make or break yourself and others.
Frequently doing things that you feel bad about, are in excess, or are compulsive should be looked at for ways to change the loop.
Understand the categories of cues: location, time, emotions, others, last actions.
Sex, drugs, parties, lying, cheating, generally over-the-top activities.
It creates what you want.
Because you begin to crave something you constantly do.
Attention - as the reward is dowsed with a craving to do it all again for another moment of bliss.
But the wrong attention from the wrong people doesn't help us shake out of the pain we may feel in disillusion with the world around us.
It only creates more suffering in confusion.
Recognizing these loops can change your life.
What’s the Takeaway?
Cravings power the loop.
It gives the bad habits room to grow.
To stop it, you have to find a cue and define a new reward.
The routine is the product/activity/action.
Habits create neurological cravings that emerge gradually enough that we're not aware of their influence on the brain.
Addictive behaviors are maintained and a part of a suppressed habit loop. Lots of actions are a part of addictions.
Create a keystone habit. One little thing you can do and succeed on that can snowball into other things.
Small wins can change your life. Try starting a new habit once a week.
Willpower is the most important keystone habit to build.
When at the point of most temptation to break a habit and revert to an old or bad one — you need to find a way to communicate with yourself a step-by-step plan to stay on course.
The world may be out of my control. But I am in control of myself.
To read the book, you can find it here.
To add this book to your library on our iOS app, go here.
Thanks for reading! Make sure you check out all of our links below and look for the next email in the upcoming weeks. Take care.