10 Best Habit Books of all time
Habits are considered as any activity that can be done with little to no effort or almost automatically. Building good habits requires time and effort until your mind has been trained to do that action more effortlessly. There are excellent books written about building habits over the years, but in this post, I have researched and reviewed the 10 best habit books of all time in my opinion.
Below are the 10 best habit books of all time
1. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Summary
In this book, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg taps into the scientific discovery of why habits exist and how they can be changed. By implementing groundbreaking intelligence and presenting a vast amount of knowledge through different narratives, Duhigg paints a new dimension of human nature and our potential to truly transform ourselves.
Why you should read:
- The key for regular exercise and lose weight
- How to raise exceptional children
- How to become more productive
- How to build revolutionary companies and social movements
- Achieve success and understand how habits work
2. Atomic Habits by James Clear
Summary
Simply put, Atomic Habits will teach you how to build good habits, break the bad ones and get 1% better every day. If I could recommend just one book for a beginner to understand how and implement habit building, this would be it. The award winning author James Clear has compiled a comprehensive and practical guide using the four laws of behavior change.
Why you should read:
- Get inspiration from the stories of the best business leaders, Olympic gold medalists and award-winning artists
- How small habits create a big difference
- Focusing on your system (processes) rather than setting goals
- Learning to power your habits through identity
- Learning the habit loop
Buy Atomic Habits
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Summary
In this book, the author Stephen R. Covey argues over the importance of developing character over personality to achieve sustainable success. He brings forward 7 core habits that will lead you to develop the state of interdependence that yields the best results. These 7 habits are the keys to success for people across all walks of life.
Why you should read:
- Learn the character ethic composed of the primary principles of character which happiness and success is based on
- Get insightful information on the 7 core habits that lead to happiness and success
- Learn to to adapt your inner core rather than the outside manifestations
4. Drive by Daniel Pink
Summary
This New York Times best selling book gives the readers a whole new way of thinking about motivation. Written in a very provocative fashion, the author highlights the secret force behind high performance and satisfaction in both your personal and professional life. He also argues the parity between scientific findings and corporate actions and how it affects every aspect of life.
Why you should read:
- Learn the three elements of true motivation – autonomy, mastery and purpose
- Know smart techniques on how to put these elements into action
- Change how we think and transform the way we live.
Buy Drive
5. Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
Summary
This book is based on 20+ years of research at Stanford university by the author Dr BJ Fogg. The author explores the system of “Behavior Design” which is carefully crafted to crack the code of habit formation. This book is based on practical and immediately actionable methods based on Dr Fogg’s research and personal experience of coaching over 60,000 people.
Why you should read:
- Learn 60 habits designed for reducing stress, increasing focus and sleeping better
- Feel good about your successes rather than feeling bad about your failures
- Know how to cultivate habits and make them stick by enforcing positive emotion and celebrating small successes.
Buy Tiny Habits
6. Mindset by Carol Dweck
Summary
Written by the world renowned psychologist Dr Carol Dweck, this book dives deep into her ‘mindset theory’ and explores how each of us either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. It explores how our mindset affects our personal and professional life and how the same applies to cultures and organizations. This book shows how parents, teachers, managers and athletes can all utilize this idea and accomplish greatness.
Why you should read:
- Learn transformative insights into redefining success, build resilience and boost personal growth
- Move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset
- Be able to motivate the people you lead, teach and love to transform their lives.
Buy Mindset
7. Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Summary
In this book, New York Times Best Seller Gretchen Rubin presents all the approaches that work and provides the readers with a practical framework that allows them to easily understand their habits and change them for good. Backed with research and with a hint of humor, Better Than Before consists of core principles of habit formation and answers some of the most puzzling questions about habit formation.
Why you should read:
- Easy to understand and practical framework
- Get answers for complex questions you’ve always wondered
- Theories and approaches tested on real people including the author herself
8. How to Change by Katy Milkman
Summary
A national bestseller, in this book author Katy Milkman who is a professor at Wharton School and has devoted her career to the study of behavior change puts forward the proven science of how to get from where you are to where you want to be. It includes a foreword from Angela Duckworth, the best selling author of grit.
Why you should read:
- Shares strategic methods on how to overcome common barriers to change
- Learn how to change an uphill battle into a downhill one to win
- Understand that giving advice on something even if you are struggling with it can help you achieve more
Buy How to Change
9. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Summary
Written by one of the world’s leading creative artists, Twyla Therp, this book dives deep into what it takes to make creativity into a habit and into your life. She explains how it is within reach for each and every one of us and that it is the product of preparation and effort. She has compiled 32 practical lessons based on her 35 year long career in the field of creative arts.
Why you should read:
- Overcome the painful first steps of coming up with ideas
- Finding stability of your work
- Get into the productive grooves
10. Rewire by Richard O’Conner
Summary
In this book, Best selling author Richard O’Conner expands the ideas from his previous successful book Undoing Depression. He explains how we have two brains, a conscious deliberate self and an automatic self and teaches the readers how to train our automatic self to ignore distractions, resist temptations and stop harmful responses.
Why you should read:
- Gives a road map on how to overcome self destructive habits such as worrying and procrastination
- Learn valuable skills and habits such as mindfulness and self discipline
- Open ourselves to a happier and more successful life
Buy Rewire
Conclusion
This above list of best habit books of all time is based on my knowledge and hours of research and reading. However, there are a number of other great books written on this subject. The most important thing to know is that each and every author of the above best habit books has spent numerous hours and a lifetime of hard work and dedication to write them.
If you want to learn about habit formation and making it stick, read through these reviews and make a decision to take the time to read and implement the strategies in any of these books of your preference. I am sure that you will find value in them and ultimately find success building the habits you have always wanted to cultivate.
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