The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg

Those decisions are habitual, effortless. As long as your basal ganglia is intact and the cues remain constant, the behaviors will occur unthinkingly. (Though when you go on vacation, you may get dressed in different ways or brush your teeth at a different point in your morning routine without noticing it.)

Wanna know a great time to start a new diet/quit smoking/start an exercise routine/re-work those bad spousal communication patterns that drive you crazy? During a vacation! Crazy, I know. But studies show it works. All your usual cues are out of whack, and so it’s a bit easier to start something new. Try it! It works! (I am typing this in Costa Rica, where I have started a new weird exercise habit involving rolling my back out every morning. I tried to do this back home, but I kept forgetting. Here, I do it every morning.)