The backbone of this book is my four-step model of habits—cue,
craving,
response, and reward—and the four laws of behavior change
that evolve out of these steps. Readers with a psychology background
may recognize some of these terms from operant conditioning, which
was first proposed as “stimulus, response, reward” by B. F. Skinner in
the 1930s and has been popularized more recently as “cue, routine,
reward” in
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
Behavioral scientists like Skinner realized
that if you offered the
right reward or punishment, you could get people to act in a certain
way. But while Skinner’s model did an excellent job of explaining how
external stimuli influenced our habits, it lacked a good explanation for
how our thoughts,
feelings, and beliefs impact our behavior. Internal
states—our moods and emotions—matter, too. In recent decades,
scientists have begun to determine the connection between our
thoughts, feelings, and behavior. This research will also be covered in
these pages.
In total, the framework I offer is an integrated model of the
cognitive and behavioral sciences. I believe it
is one of the first models
of human behavior to accurately account for both the influence of
external stimuli and internal emotions on our habits. While some of
the language may be familiar, I am confident that the details—and the
applications of the Four Laws of Behavior Change—will offer a new
way to think about your habits.
Human behavior is always changing: situation to situation, moment
to moment, second to second.
But this book is about what doesn’t
change. It’s about the fundamentals of human behavior. The lasting
principles you can rely on year after year. The ideas you can build a
business around, build a family around, build a life around.
There is no one right way to create better habits, but this book
describes the best way I know—an approach that will be effective
regardless of where you start or what you’re trying to change. The
strategies I cover will be relevant to anyone
looking for a step-by-step
system for improvement, whether your goals center on health, money,
productivity, relationships, or all of the above. As long as human
behavior is involved, this book will be your guide.
