The following contains excerpts from the book, The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg).
The author delves into the subject of how habits are formed in our individual lives, corporations, and societies. He shows how habits can be identified and controlled to our benefit instead of our demise.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe music is more than sound, it is relationships. One of the most profound aspects of relationships in life is how the subject of Leadership is impacted by personal discipline.
“This book is divided into three parts. The first section focuses on how habits emerge within individual lives. It explores the neurology of habit formation, how to build new habits and change old ones…The second part examines the habits of successful companies and organizations…The third part looks at the habits of societies.”
The only way to successfully gain mastery of one’s musicianship at our music school in Midland, Texas is to develop deeply embedded habits in core competencies, which can take years to refine. However, once they have been established, a wide range of possibilities become available.
These are not just lessons for music-making, but also lessons for life.
Part One- The Habits of Individuals
The author discusses the part of our brain in which habits are stored. “The basal ganglia, in other words, stored habits even while the rest of the brain went to sleep…This process- in which the brain converts a sequence of actions into an automatic routine- is known as ‘chunking,’ and it’s at the root of how habits form. There are dozens- if not hundreds- of behavioral chunks that we rely on every day…Habits, scientist say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often. This effort-saving instinct is a huge advantage.”
Discussing the components of ‘habit,’ the author shows its three parts. “This process within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop- cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward- becomes more and more automatic. The cue and reward become intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges.”
“Habits aren’t destiny…habits can be ignored, changed, or replaced. But the reason the discovery of the habit loop is so important is that is reveals a basic truth: When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit- unless you find new routines- the pattern will unfold automatically…We might not remember the experiences that create our habits, but once they are lodged within our brains they influence how we act- often without our realization.”
The only way a student in our music school in Midland, Texas can successfully have both hands doing entirely separate things simultaneously, is to train each side independently and bring that training to a level of subconscious habit.
“To overpower the habit, we must recognize which craving is driving the behavior…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…The cue, in addition to triggering a routine, must also trigger a craving for the reward to come.”
NFL coach, Tony Dungy, applied these principles to training his teams. “Rather than creating new habits, Dungy was going to change players old ones. And the secret to changing old habits was using what was already inside player’s heads. Habits are a three-step loop- the cue, the routine, and the reward- but Dungy only wanted to attack the middle step, the routine. He knew from experience that it was easier to convince someone to adopt a new behavior if there was something familiar at the beginning and end…To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine. That’s the rule: If you use the same cue, and provide the same reward, you can shift the routine and change the habit.”
“Dungy’s strategy, he explained, was to shift the team’s behaviors until their performances were automatic. He didn’t believe the Buccaneers needed the thickest playbook. He didn’t think they had to memorize hundreds of formations. They just had to learn a few key moves and get them right every time.”
That is the goal for our students at our music school in Midland, Texas: to bring forth beautiful skill and music easily from deep and successfully established habits.
“There is, unfortunately, no specific set of steps guaranteed to work for every person. We know that a habit cannot be eradicated- it must, instead, be replaced. And we know that habits are most malleable when the Golden Rule of habit change is applied: If we keep the same cue and the same reward, a new routine can be inserted. But that’s not enough. For a habit to stay changed, people must believe change is possible. And most often, that belief only emerges with the help of a group.”
Each teacher/student relationship is unique at our music school in Midland, Texas and the teacher will intuitively find the path that works best for each person’s journey towards success.
“The evidence is clear: If you want to change a habit, you must find an alternative routine, and your odds of success go up dramatically when you commit to changing as part of a group. Belief is essential, and it grows out of a communal experience, even if that community is only as large as two people.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we seek to establish good habits of learning and skillfulness first, so that changing habits will not be necessary. However, if the student has pre-existing bad habits, we have teachers who are skillful at navigating those changes.