Curious Habits

A curious habit is helpful... until it's not.Attention to detail is great – perfectionism is a curious habit.Chocolate is awesome – using it to treat anxiety is a curious habit.Honest self-awareness is admirable – constantly beating yourself up is a curious habit.We have habits for a reason, we repeat things that feel good and move away from the stuff we don't like. Our habits solve a problem and make life easier. Unfortunately, our habits can turn on us. This book teaches us how to use curiosity as a superpower. It takes the blame and shame out of habit change so that we make the change not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to.Drawing from the collective wisdom of evolutionary biology, neuroscience, Stoic philosophy and even Instagram, leading mindset coach Luke Mathers helps us embrace the power of curiosity to recognise when habits start to impact negatively our health and happiness. Curious Habits offers an entertaining, thought-provoking and non-judgmental exploration into why we do the things we do, and how to reset for a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life.

The Curious Habits of Man shares an amusing glimpse at life as one man contemplates many of our greatest--and smallest--questions. In this collection of essays the author tackles hundreds of life's questions while exploring a vast array of subjects -- from tubas to two-year-olds, from field goals to child labor laws, and from high school shop class to the worst round of golf ever played. With an ascerbic wit and an honest approach, Swain shares his perspective on such pivotal matters as how to ski without losing a limb or your self-esteem, how to correctly prepare and consume lobster according to Maine standards, and whether marketing ploys hypnotically convince consumers to replace perfectly functioning items without a second thought.

Coaching is an essential skill for leaders. But for most busy, overworked managers, coaching employees is done badly, or not at all. They're just too busy, and it's too hard to change. But what if managers could coach their people in 10 minutes or less? In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact. Coaching is an art and it's far easier said than done. It takes courage to ask a question rather than offer up advice, provide an answer, or unleash a solution. Giving another person the opportunity to find their own way, make their own mistakes, and create their own wisdom is both brave and vulnerable. It can also mean unlearning our ''fix it'' habits. In this practical and inspiring book, Michael shares seven transformative questions that can make a difference in how we lead and support. And, he guides us through the tricky part - how to take this new information and turn it into habits and a daily practice. -Brené Brown, author of Rising Strong and Daring Greatly Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how---by saying less and asking more--you can develop coaching methods that produce great results. - Get straight to the point in any conversation with The Kickstart Question - Stay on track during any interaction with The AWE Question - Save hours of time for yourself with The Lazy Question, and hours of time for others with The Strategic Question - Get to the heart of any interpersonal or external challenge with The Focus Question and The Foundation Question - Finally, ensure others find your coaching as beneficial as you do with The Learning Question A fresh, innovative take on the traditional how-to manual, the book combines insider information with research based in neuroscience and behavioural economics, together with interactive training tools to turn practical advice into practiced habits. Dynamic question-and-answer sections help identify old habits and kick-start new behaviour, making sure you get the most out of all seven chapters. Witty and conversational, The Coaching Habit takes your work--and your workplace--from good to great.

The latest from Ian Leslie, the author of Born Liars, a Globe and Mail Top 100 Book, is a fascinating look at the human characteristic of curiosity — our extraordinary capacity to take pleasure in discovering, learning, and understanding. Curious shows how the practice of “deep curiosity” — persistent, self-reflective seeking of knowledge and insight — is key to the success of our careers, the happiness of our children, the strength of our relationships, and the progress of societies. But it also argues that it is a fragile quality, which wanes and waxes over time, and that we take it for granted at our peril. Ian Leslie proposes that the Internet is opening up a “curiosity gap,” by exacerbating the divide between those with a large cognitive appetite, and those happy knowing no more than they have to know; between the curious and the incurious. He draws on many sources and stories to illustrate his points: Benjamin Franklin at Portsmouth Harbour studying the effect of oil on choppy waters; a bored Galileo distracting himself in a Pisa cathedral by observing the swinging of a recently lit lamp; Leonardo da Vinci doodling ideas in his notebook; Google co-founder Larry Page’s thoughts on the perfect search engine; the invention of the microwave oven; the advantages of your local bookseller over Amazon’s algorithms; a reassessment of Donald Rumsfeld’s defense strategy, and many more. Rich, textured, and exciting, Curious is a new take on the most absorbing human trait of all.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1866.