Good Habits, Bad Habits: How to Make Positive Changes That Stick - Hardcover

Wood, Wendy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509864695 ISBN 13: 9781509864690

Publisher: Macmillan, 2019

Synopsis

‘Wendy Wood is the world’s foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential’ – Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit

The scientifically proven way to easily make positive changes in your life by unlocking your habits, written the world's foremost expert on habits.

Much of what we do, we do by habit. How we respond to the people around us; what we buy; when and how we exercise, eat and drink are nearly all done without conscious thought.

And yet, whenever we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on willpower alone. We hope that our determination and intention will be enough to effect positive change. And that is why almost all of us fail.

What if you could harness the extraordinary power of your unconscious mind, which already determines so much of what you do, to achieve your goals? Drawing on three decades of original research, Wendy Wood shows how habits are stress-resistant, that varying rewards leads to faster and more effective habit formation, and why the oft-repeated idea that forming a habit takes twenty-one days is wrong. Explaining the fascinating science of how habits form, Wood provides the key to unlocking our habitual mind in order to make the changes we seek.

About this title

Review

If you’ve ever struggled to make or break a habit, this is the book you need to read. Wendy Wood is widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Wendy Wood is the world’s foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential -- Angela Duckworth, author of Grit

Enlightening and insightful . . . Wood’s research and perspective on the malleability of habits will bring hope to any reader looking to create long-term behavioural change, Publishers Weekly

Wendy Wood . . . is the most thoughtful, innovative person who understands the role of habits in human behaviour . . . I can’t imagine a better person writing this book -- Dan Ariely

There is no one in all of psychology who could write a more compelling book on habits and behaviours -- James W. Pennebaker

No one has studied how habits form and direct behaviour better than Professor Wendy Wood . . . She has described how to change negative habits into positive versions better than anybody. She's the researcher best able to write the next big book on the topic -- Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

Fascinating and fun, this book will change a lot of lives . . . Wood brings state-of-the-art social science into contact with the most pressing issues in daily life. She’s a tremendous guide -- Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University, and author of How Change Happens

A fascinating tour of the science of habits, and Wendy Wood is the consummate tour guide. One of the world’s leading habit researchers -- Professor Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible

A huge achievement. Wendy Wood manages to distil the science of habit formation, most of which emerges from her own lab, in a manner that is fascinating but also, above all, extremely useful for people looking to make positive change in their life -- David Kessler, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Overeating and Capture

Many authors have written about habits . . . but Wood is also a premier scientist in psychology, working on how habits affect and are affected by the human mind. Top tip: Willpower isn’t enough. But through her original research, Wood explains what does work, Washington Post

From the Back Cover

A landmark book about how we form habits, and how you can make positive changes in your own life
‘If you’ve ever struggled to make or break a habit, this is the book you need to read. Wendy Wood is widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits, and her lively writing busts myths and builds evidence about what actually helps with making behaviour changes that last.’
Adam Grant, author of Originals and co-author of Option B
‘Fascinating and fun, this book will change a lot of lives. So much of human behaviour is habitual - sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Wood brings state-of-the-art social science into contact with the most pressing issues in daily life. She’s a tremendous guide.’
Cass Sunstein, co-author of Nudge
‘No one has studied how habits form and influence behaviour better than Wendy Wood. More importantly for readers, no one has done a better job of showing how to change negative habits into powerful, helpful versions.’
Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence

Edition details

• Publisher: Macmillan
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1509864695
• ISBN 13: 9781509864690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320