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by danpelota 3492 days ago
In addition, I haven't seen the third step in the "Cue -> Habit -> Reward" cycle mentioned yet. While the Reward may be the lingering endorphin rush from a hard workout or the feeling of accomplishment after finishing a chore, the author also suggests a simple, pleasurable behavior after the task that you're trying to make a habit of (like a small piece of chocolate immediately after a run or allowing yourself a few shameless minutes of cat videos after a focused study session). The idea is to allow your mind to associate the pleasure response with the habit each time it encounters the cue.
2 comments

> I haven't seen the third step in the "Cue -> Habit -> Reward" cycle mentioned yet.

Good point! I allow myself an Irn-Bru only on run days (and less than 10 miles doesn't count). I don't live in Scotland and Irn-Bru is particularly hard to find, which is part of the incentive. Gives me a sense of accomplishment anyway!

The author talks of a variable reward. The variability is importance because of monotony associated with a repeated reward.