Quotes About Behavior

We can live and work more effectively with others when we identify their Tendencies - as coworkers and bosses, teachers and coaches, husbands and wives, parents and children, health-care providers and patients.

Scheduling makes us far more likely to convert an activity into a habit (well, except for Rebels), so for that reason, I schedule even some slightly ridiculous habits, such as "Kiss Jamie every morning and every night." Habits grow strongest and fastest when they're repeated

the "Hawthorne effect," in which people being studied improve their performance, simply because of the extra attention they're getting. In

Consistency, repetition, no decision—this was the way to develop the ease of a true habit.

In one study, when subjects made a shopping list for what they'd eat in a week, more chose a healthy snack instead of an unhealthy snack; when asked what they'd choose now, more people chose the unhealthy over the healthy snack.

In other words, habits eliminate the need for self-control.

Habit makes it dangerously easy to become numb to our own existence. For

A promotion-focused person recycles in order to make the environment cleaner; a prevention-focused person recycles in order to avoid getting a fine. Different arguments resonate with different people, and it's helpful to frame a habit in the way that suits each individual.

Instead of contradicting pessimistic or negative statements, acknowledge them. Happiness leeches are often less emphatic when they feel that others recognize their views. • Act the way I want to feel; behave the way I want to behave. Too

One-Coin" Loophole: Whether we choose to focus on the single coin or the growing heap will shape our behavior.

By catching ourselves in the act of invoking a loophole, we give ourselves an opportunity to reject it, and stick to the habits that we want to foster.

Although people often assume that cravings intensify over time, research shows that with active distraction, urges—even strong urges—usually subside within about fifteen minutes.

Drawing on intrinsic motivation makes us far more likely to stick to a behavior, and to find it satisfying.

One study showed that children who got a reward for coloring with magic markers—an activity that children love—didn't spend as much time with markers, later, as children who didn't expect a reward. The children began to think, "Why would I color if I don't get a reward?

People take less food when using tongs, instead of spoons, to serve themselves.

the marriage expert John Gottman calls the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" for their destructive role in relationships: stonewalling, defensiveness, criticism, and contempt. Well

Same person, same activity, different habit.

My idea of "this is the kind of person I am" is so bound up in my habits and actions that it's hard for me to see. But eventually, I realized that my sense of identity makes it easier or harder to change a habit.

The first and most important habits question is: "How does a person respond to an expectation?" When we try to form a new habit, we set an expectation for ourselves. Therefore, it's crucial to understand how we respond to expectations.

that the real key to habits is decision making—or, more accurately, the lack of decision making. A habit requires no decision from me, because I've already decided.

Studies suggest that we repeat about 40 percent of our behavior almost daily. So if we change our habits, we change our lives.

In ordinary terms, a "habit" is generally defined as a behavior that's recurrent, is cued by a specific context, often happens without much awareness or conscious intent, and is acquired through frequent repetition.

With habits, we conserve our [limited] self-control.

If I want my life to be a certain way, I must be that way myself.