(Shortform note: Only doing something you want to do after something you should do requires a lot of willpower. After I study for an hour, I get to play video games for an hour.” Soon, you’ll crave the study session because you’ll start to associate it with the more pleasurable activities. Try saying to yourself, “After I eat dinner, I will study for an hour. ”įor example, say you struggle to study after dinner because you’d rather play video games. 1) Connect Habits You Should Do to Things You Want to DoĬlear’s first strategy for increasing the appeal of a new habit is to sandwich a desired behavior between something you already do and something you want to do. Clear outlines several ways you can do this, two of which are: (1) associating the new habit with other, positive behaviors and (2) reframing the struggle of a new habit in a positive light. If anticipation drives action, Clear hypothesizes, you should maximize the appeal of a desired behavior so that you anticipate it more. It’s wanting-not experiencing-the reward that drives the behavior.) This is due to dopamine: Your brain expects chocolate to be delicious-so your dopamine transmitters try to convince you that the next bite will be more delicious. If you’re hooked on chocolate, you’ll continue to eat a chocolate bar even if it’s stale. (Shortform note: In The Willpower Instinct, health psychologist Kelly McGonigal demonstrates how much power anticipation can have by describing how desire and dopamine drive action even if you don’t enjoy the reward. It’s this anticipatory surge of dopamine that drives you to act- not the dopamine you feel after you feel pleasure.

Now, whenever you see chocolate, your brain will release dopamine because you anticipate the pleasure of eating it. Your brain will release a neurotransmitter called dopamine after you experience the pleasure of eating chocolate. Say you eat chocolate for the first time.

You can also make creating habits easier with techniques that affect the second stage of habit formation-the craving.Ĭlear contends that cravings lead to action because you want a reward-not because you enjoy the reward itself. Key 2: Craving: Increase the Appeal of a New Habit

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