After reading the book The Power of Habit by Duhigg, I was pleased with the information and the book, but there was a ton of stuff there and I was really wanting a clarification of the basic tenets.
Thanks, Art of Manliness.
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/22/how-to-hack-the-habit-loop-video/
Enjoy.
Sounds pretty good for behavior modification. So if you want to stop biting your nails or smoke fewer cigarettes, it seems worth it.
Yet, this methodology seems a bit humanistic. It was intriguing to hear him qualify one of the habits as watching nightly porn. It made me think about the difference of character neutral habits verses habits that are character vices.
The problem with Duhigg’s steps is that The Cue is never modified merely the behavior responses. That is to say, if our habit is based in a flesh desire of unrighteousness (The Cue) the process is simply the aversion of a set of behaviors (The Routine) and replacing them with other behaviors (New Routine) to gain a more appropriate method to receive satisfaction (The Reward).
At first glance, this seems positive. It certainly seems better than responding to the flesh with behavior that gives into it. Yet for the Christian, it seems incomplete. To pull from the old Scottish theologian Thomas Chalmers, what is needed is “the expulsive power of new affection.”
For those who belong to Christ, they have the Spirit of God in them (Romans 8:9). And Galatians 5:16-25 tells the believer that the Spirit stands against the flesh as an opposite. With the Holy Spirit, there is hope of replacing our desire of flesh by this implanted “new affection.”
Praise God that as a follower of his, we are not simply left with no hope of changing The Cues of our flesh. But we are a new creation (1 Corinthians 5:17) with the Holy Spirit who has the power to give life (John 6:63) which the flesh has no ability to.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. -Romans 15:13
Think about Paul’s very pragmatic advice to “make no provision for the flesh” in this context. This would be purely behavioral, but behavior based on understanding the truth – that the flesh is weak. I think this is him reporting on the research done which shows success in breaking habits. Truth is still truth, even if the source is secular. I think it could be a valuable tool for someone seeking to live a life worthy of the calling with which they have been called. Does it tell the whole truth? Not at all, but there is truth there that the New Creation, like Paul, can take advantage of, even in moral battles. I may not want the comfort of addictive behavior, but my flesh sure does.
Everything you have written is dead on, about being New Creations; I just don’t think making use of secular research is necessarily in contradiction to that truth. Great points, Paul.
So i noticed the ‘Art of Manliness’ guy is an OU fan… that pretty manly.