Ep 25: Breaking Highly Rewarding Habits

Some habits are just habits. We do them because they take us down the road of least resistance. But our other habits give us pleasure, and we often think of those habits as being more like an addiction – something that is going to take willpower or determination to break. But what if we told you that you can break a highly rewarding habit without resorting to a monastic lifestyle? That is what we are going to cover in this episode.


Study: Does the Perception That Stress Affects Health Matter? The Association With Health and Mortality

Article: No, Dopamine is not Addictive (Psychology Today)

Article: Myths and Facts about Dopamine (Healthiine)

Key Takeaways:

  • Breaking any habitual behavior can be challenging but when that habitual behavior is highly rewarding, it can be even more difficult.
  • Sometimes things that were once rewarding become less rewarding (or more costly) over time–but they’ve become habitual.
  • Replacing a rewarding (but costly) habit with a different rewarding activity can make it easier to break a habit
  • We can create a more rewarding life by choosing our habits (and our rewards) more intentionally.

Lab Experiment:

  1. Make a list of activities that you find rewarding or that give you pleasure. Make it as comprehensive as you can.
  2. Review your list and put an X next to anything where the cost (in time, money, energy, or health) is greater than the reward you get–or even just more than you want to pay.
  3. Review your list again and put a checkmark next to those things that would make your life better if you did them more often.

How can you use this information to create positive change?

NB: For more detailed instructions, listen to the audio.