Charles Duhigg, author of “The Power of Habit,” joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday to answer your questions.
Here’s one of his answers to a question from the live chat. (See below for the full Q&A.)
Jeff asked:
“Can anyone change their habits? If so, does your book provide all the steps that are needed, or are there certain habits where someone would have to go to a coach or psychologist?”
Charles replied:
“The specific steps for changing a specific habit differ from person to person and habit to habit but the steps -- the formula -- is essentially the same, and once you learn it, you can do amazing things.”
“One of the interesting things about personal finance habits is how many of our financial decisions aren't rooted in decision making, but in habits we've developed over the years. For instance, take credit cards. Lots of people have habits around their credit cards (maybe you do?), and companies know that, and try to encourage some of those habits. That's why, for instance, so many credit card machines are exactly similar from store to store -- companies want to make it easy for you to use your card.”
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