7 Books on Habits

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?”

— David Foster Wallace

The water is habits: The unthinking choices and invisible decisions that surround us — and which, just by looking at them, become visible again.

• Some habits matter more than others in remaking our lives.
• These are ‘keystone habits’, and they can influence how people work, eat, play, live, spend, and communicate.
• The habits that matter most are the ones that, when they start to shift, dislodge and remake other patterns.
• For example, a common personal keystone habit for many people is regular exercise. It’s common for people who nail get that right start to sleep and eat better, drink less, etc.

This is how new habits are created: By putting together a cue, a routine, and a reward, and then cultivating a craving that drives the loop.

To create a new habit (such as running each morning), you need to choose a simple cue (e.g. leaving your gym clothes out, lacing your sneakers before breakfast, etc), and a clear reward (e.g. a midday treat, the satisfaction of completing the run, etc).