The Limitations of Building Better Habits [Best Reads]

In my work as a behavioral designer, I come across important stories on how psychology influences our behavior. Every week, I share my round-up of the most important stories at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. I hope you enjoy them!

Four Ways to Use Psychology to Win Your Competition's Customers (Pocket Worthy) Some products sell themselves, but habits don't. They require a bit of finesse.

A Weight-Loss Expert Explains Why We Sabotage Our Goals (and How to Stop) (Greatist) Many people sabotage their weight loss goals. Learn how to recognize self-sabotaging when you see it, understand why you are doing it, and figure out how to overcome it.

'I'm extremely controversial': the psychologist rethinking human emotion (The Guardian) People have misconceptions about the emotion that can make their lives harder. The biggest misconception is that feelings are innate and universal, and can be consistently measured.

Why social media isn't really the real villain of this age (Live Mint) Everything about The Social Dilemma documentary is melodramatic and dishonest evangelism of a band of guys who were part of the tech industry who created social media and Google.

Can You Be a Good Person If You Don't Read the News?  (Pocket Worthy) The news cycle has become an ugly, corrosive, all-encompassing force. There are a few guidelines when it comes to consuming journalism.

What are the Limits of Building Better Habits? (Scott H. Young) The very power of a tool like habit-building can also create some overreach.

Happy reading!

- Nir

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Nir Eyal is formerly a Lecturer in Marketing at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. His first book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, is an international bestseller and taught companies how to design more engaging products. His second book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, reveals the Achilles' heel of distraction and provides a guidebook for getting the best of technology without letting it get the best of us. Nir blogs at NirAndFar.com