There’s Something Really Powerful About Groups And

But Countless Studies Have Shown That A Cue And A Reward, On Their Own, Aren't Enough For A New Habit To Last. Only When Your Brain Starts Expecting The Reward--craving The Endorphins Or Sense Of Accomplishment--will It Become Automatic To Lace Up Your Jogging Shoes Each Morning. The Cue, In Addition To Triggering A Routine, Must Also Trigger A Craving For The Reward To Come.

Habits Are Powerful, But Delicate. They Can Emerge Outside Our Consciousness, Or Can Be Deliberately Designed. They Often Occur Without Our Permission, But Can Be Reshaped By Fiddling With Their Parts. They Shape Our Lives Far More Than We Realize—they Are So Strong, In Fact, That They Cause Our Brains To Cling To Them At The Exclusion Of All Else, Including Common Sense.

However, To Modify A Habit, You Must Decide To Change It. You Must Consiously Accept The Hard Work Of Identifying The Cues And Rewards That Drive The Habits' Routines, And Find Alternatives. You Must Know You Have Control And Be Self-conscious Enough To Use It -- And Every Chapter In This Book Is Devoted To Illustrating A Different Aspect Of Why That Control Is Real.

The Cooperation Of Nascar - Or Any Other System, It Turns Out - Persists Only When Everyone Believes He Has The Opportunity To Win.

The Brain Has This Amazing Ability To Find Happiness Even When The Memories Of It Are Gone.