- [ ] Luby said "it is a lot easier for people to adopt a product that provides strong positive sensory signal, for example the mint taste of toothpaste, than it is to adopt a habit that does not provide pleasurable sensory feedback like flossing" - [ ] we are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying - [ ] pleasure teaches the brain that a behavior is worth remembering and repeating - [ ] conversely if an experience is not satisfying we have little reason to repeat it - [ ] cardinal rule of behavior change what is immediately rewarded is repeated;. What is immediately punished is avoided - [ ] the first three laws of behavior change "obvious, attractive, easy" increase that a behavior will be performed *this time*. the fourth law "satisfying" increases odds it will be repeated - [ ] many of the choices you make today will not benefit you immediately. - [ ] Animal: you live in in what scientists call "*immediate return environment*" where actions immediately deliver clear outcomes - [ ] Human: you live in *delayed return environment* because you can work for years before you actions deliver - [ ] only recently, last 500 years, society shifted to predominantly delayed-return environment - [ ] time inconsistency: the way your brain evaluates rewards is inconsistent across time - [ ] reward certain right now is worth more than one that is possible, but occasionally this is problematic - [ ] every habit produces multiple outcomes. Unfortunately these are often misaligned. With bad habits the immediate outcome usually feels good while the delayed outcome is bad, and good habits the immediate outcome feels bad but the ultimate outcome is best. - [ ] put another way, the costs of good habits are in the present while the costs of bad habits are in the future - [ ] brain tends to prioritize present moment meaning you can't rely on good intention - [ ] as a general rule the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more strongly you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals. - [ ] the last mile is always least crowded - [ ] most people *know* that delayed gratification is the wise approach but these are seldom top-of-mind at decisive moment - [ ] the vital thing in getting a habit to stick is to feel successful, even in small ways - [ ] immediate rewards are essential. they keep you excited while the delayed rewards accumulate in the background - [ ] best approach is to use reinforcement, immediate reward to increase rate of behavior - [ ] habit stacking ties habits to cues making them easy to start, reinforcement ties habits to immediate reward which makes it satisfying to finish - [ ] short-term rewards that reinforce identity rather than ones that conflict - exercise shouldn't be rewarded with ice cream - [ ] as intrinsic rewards (better mode, weight loss, etc.) kick in, you'll become less concerned with chasing the secondary reward. The identity becomes the reinforcer - [ ] incentives can start a habit, identity sustains it - [ ] habit needs to be enjoyable for it to last. Reinforcement can offer immediate pleasure when you need to enjoy a habit, and change is easy when it's enjoyable