If you’re into leadership or self-help or helping others, this book should be on your bookshelf (or your iPad).

Habits are critical to our lives – they allow our brains to be smaller and let us do a tremendous amount more than we could without them.

“The Power of Habit” is broken into three parts:

The book is based in the “habit loop”:

The book then describes a process for changing habits (because it’s easier to change a habit than to stop one). I thought the first part of the book (fully 1/2 of the total) is must-read; I’m still considering ways to use this information in my day to day life.

The other two sections seem less valuable to me, with the habits of societies part being the most tenuous (and furthest from direct individual manipulation). The stories are powerful, but the lessons less valuable in my opinion.

Even with those issues, I think this is a must-read book.