Duhigg’s fundamental message is that our daily habits, routines, and behaviors are performed subconsciously: “At one point, we all consciously decided on how much to eat and what to focus on when we got to the office, how often to have a drink or when to go for a jog. Then we stopped making a choice, and the behavior became automatic” (xvii). The brain prefers to do as little work as possible and therefore transforms daily choices, such as brushing our teeth, into automatic actions.

The transformation of habits into automatic behaviors occurs in the basal ganglia, a golf-ball-sized section of the brain located near the spinal column. This section of the brain is also responsible for other basic human impulses, including our desire for food, safety, and sleep. Therefore, once our habits are deeply ingrained, they become as instinctive as eating or sleeping.

Even though our habits automatize, Duhigg argues that it is possible to change them: “Habits aren’t destiny” (20), he writes. Key to addressing our habits is understanding the habit loop, the “cue > routine > reward” that governs all of our daily activities. We can never completely remove our habits, but we can alter them by changing the “routine” portion of the habit loop, or what he calls

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