From James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits”
To Form a Habit, You Must Give Yourself a Award (a Dopamine hit).
- “In the beginning, you need a reason to stay on track. This is why immediate rewards are essential. They keep you excited while the delayed rewards accumulate in the background.” (p. 191)
- “Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop. Every behavior that is highly habit-forming—taking drugs, eating junk food, playing video games, browsing social media—is associated with higher levels of dopamine. The same can be said for our most basic habitual behaviors like eating food, drinking water, having sex, and interacting socially.” (p. 106)
- “When it comes to habits, the key takeaway is this: dopamine is released not only when you experience pleasure, but also when you anticipate it. Gambling addicts have a dopamine spike right before they place a bet, not after they win. Cocaine addicts get a surge of dopamine when they see the powder, not after they take it.”( p. 106)
- “It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take action.” (p. 106)
To Make a Habit Stick, Add a Reward With Something You Love to Do.
“You’re more likely to find a behavior attractive if you get to do one of your favorite things at the same time.”
- “Perhaps you want to hear about the latest celebrity gossip, but you need to get in shape. Using temptation bundling, you could only read the tabloids and watch reality shows at the gym.”
- “If you love to check Facebook, but want to do more exercise “After I pull out my phone, I will do ten burpees (need). After I do ten burpees, I will check Facebook (want).” (p. 111)
- “If you love ESPN but you want to do more sales. “After I get back from my lunch break, I will call three potential clients (need). After I call three potential clients, I will check ESPN (want).””
- “Maybe you want to get a pedicure, but you need to clean out your email inbox. Solution: only get a pedicure while processing overdue work emails.” (p. 109)
- “Ronan Byrne, an electrical engineering student in Dublin, Ireland, enjoyed watching Netflix, but he also knew that he should exercise more often than he did. Putting his engineering skills to use, Byrne hacked his stationary bike and connected it to his laptop and television. Then he wrote a computer program that would allow Netflix to run only if he was cycling at a certain speed. If he slowed down for too long, whatever show he was watching would pause until he started pedaling again.” (p. 108)
- “If you love news, but want to be more grateful. “After I get my morning coffee, I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened yesterday (need). After I say one thing I’m grateful for, I will read the news (want).”
Examples of How Companies Get You Addicted to Their Products By Giving You Rewards (Dopamine Hits).
- Food scientists goal it to create addictive foods. They use the perfect combination of sugar, salt, and fat in the food to make it an award. People have become addicted to the reward and eating junk food has become a habit.
- “In addition to promoting the shows, ABC encouraged viewers to make popcorn, drink red wine, and enjoy the evening. Over time, people began to connect watching ABC with feeling relaxed and entertained. If you drink red wine and eat popcorn at 8 p.m. every Thursday, then eventually “8 p.m. on Thursday” means relaxation and entertainment. The reward gets associated with the cue, and the habit of turning on the television becomes more attractive.” (p. 109)
- In the 1800’s, chewing gum was not popular. In 1891 Wrigley added flavoring such as spearmint and juicy fruit to chewing gum. The flavoring was the reward for chewing gum. Chewing gum quickly became addictive and a habit.
- When toothpaste was invented it was not popular. Manufacturers started to add flavorings to toothpaste to make it addictive. The flavorings became the award for using toothpaste. Using toothpaste quickly became addictive and a habit. “Manufacturers enjoyed great success when they added flavors like spearmint, peppermint, and cinnamon to their products. These flavors don’t improve the effectiveness of toothpaste.”
- Luby helped people in Pakistan reduce the rate of disease by getting them to use soap regularly. “Luby and his team partnered with Procter & Gamble to supply the neighborhood with Safeguard soap. In Pakistan, Safeguard was a premium soap,” Luby told me. “The study participants commonly mentioned how much they liked it.” The soap foamed easily, and people were able to lather their hands with suds. It smelled great. Instantly, handwashing became slightly more pleasurable.” (p. 184)
Some Other Tips:
“Open a savings account and label it for something you want—maybe “Leather Jacket.” Whenever you pass on a purchase, put the same amount of money in the account. Skip your morning latte? Transfer $5. Pass on another month of Netflix? Move $10 over. It’s like creating a loyalty program for yourself. The immediate reward of seeing yourself save money toward the leather jacket feels a lot better than being deprived.”
“One of my readers and his wife used a similar setup. They wanted to stop eating out so much and start cooking together more. They labeled their savings account “Trip to Europe.” Whenever they skipped going out to eat, they transferred $50 into the account. At the end of the year, they put the money toward the vacation.”
“Eventually, as intrinsic rewards like a better mood, more energy, and reduced stress kick in, you’ll become less concerned with chasing the secondary reward. The identity itself becomes the reinforcer. You do it because it’s who you are and it feels good to be you. The more a habit becomes part of your life, the less you need outside encouragement to follow through. Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit.” (p. 192)