The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Ramadan

Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh I welcome you to today's video and in this video we will be discussing the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

why we do what we do in life and in business.

Let's discuss a few lessons from this book and how these lessons can be applied during and after the blessed month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is a time when Muslims reflect they introspect, they reflect on their habits and they strive there is this constant striving to turn over a new leaf to mend their ways and to instill positive changes in their lives. So this book The Power of Habit, it explores the science of habit formation and how we can use this knowledge to make powerful and positive changes in our lives. So generally, when you study the science of habit formation, psychologists and other experts state that the time it takes to form a habit varies depending on the individual and the habit itself. So according to the research out there, it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to form a new habit with an average

of around 66 days. Now, there are some who say 20 days, some will say 30, the average and some who say 60 days. Now you have to understand that this is just an estimate, and some people may be able to form habits more quickly, whilst others may take longer. Additionally, the level of complexity of the habit, the tasks involved the frequency of repetition, and the strength of the person's determination, motivation, and willpower can all impact the time it takes to lock in and form a habit, a good habit or a bad habit. Now this book explains that habits are formed through a three step process. So you have cue, routine, and reward. The cue is the trigger that sets the habit in

motion, it gets the ball rolling the routine is the repetitive behavior itself. And then the reward is the result the outcome that reinforces the habit. So during Ramadan, we can use this knowledge because we've got 30 days, my dear brothers and sisters so during this powerful month, the spiritual bootcamp, we can use this knowledge to instill to develop new habits, and to break old ones. So for example, if you have a habit of sleeping late,

and then missing Salat al Fajr, you can identify the cues. In other words, the triggers that trigger this behavior, such as, for example, staying up late on your phone the previous night, you know, going down a rabbit hole on YouTube, Netflix, social media in general, you can identify that cue, you can identify that trigger, and you can replace that cue with positive ones such as maybe you read in the Quran before going to bed or reading something positive, a good book, you know, to kind of put yourself to sleep before going to

bed. Now another important point from the book is that habits are easier to form when we have a clear sense of purpose. When we have a strong motivator, you have a strong motivation to push you forward. So during Ramadan, my dear brothers and sisters as as the servants of the Almighty our purpose is not just staying away from food and drink. It's not some kind of quote unquote diet. The lofty purpose behind Ramadan is to instill the consciousness of our maker, it is to draw closer to Allah taqwa, basically to to build in this strong nature where we stay away from that which displeases Allah and we draw closer to Him by doing that which pleases Him, we're looking to seek

his forgiveness we're looking to you know, achieve His mercy. So by focusing on all these lofty purposes, there is the incentive we can motivate ourselves to form positive and powerful habits and break negative ones. So by making positive changes during Ramadan, we can carry those habits the good habits forward into our daily lives and we can inshallah continue to reap the benefits long after because

you see when the last 10 nights of Ramadan Ramadan is leaving us sadly. So by instilling these habits and carrying them forward into our daily lives, we will inshallah continue to reap the rewards the benefits long after the month is over. So for example, if you instill and make a habit of reading the Quran every single day during Ramadan, you can now go on to continue this habit after the month of Ramadan as well.

and make it a regular part and parcel of your life. So this book, The Power of Habit reminds us that habits are a powerful force in our lives.

But you also have to understand we have the power to change them. Like I said, you have good habits, bad habits and habits in general are a powerful force. So the good habits obviously have very powerful and poor and a positive impact and similarly bad habits can have a very detrimental and powerful negative effect on our lives. May Allah protect us all. So by by applying the lessons from this book during Ramadan, we can nurture and instill good habits we can develop good habits, and we can break away from bad ones may Allah subhanho wa Taala bless us all with the strength with the willpower and the determination to form good habits and to break away from the bad ones during this

blessed month of Ramadan. JazakAllah hair for watching and if you found this video to be of benefit, do share it with others as well so that others can benefit. I pray that Allah subhanho wa Taala blesses us all to make the most out of this month of Ramadan. I mean, I mean, that way until hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen