Rubin offers a fascinating perspective about the downside of rewards when building habits. She concludes that rewards can actually be dangerous to habit formation.
She refers to ideas introduced by Daniel Pink in Drive about the very complex consequences of rewards. Pink explores extrinsic versus intrinsic rewards. When we are extrinsically motivated, we do an activity…
Read More
Continuing the discussion of distractions, Rubin describes two types of trances that impact us. One is the "bad trance" and the other is the "good trance."
The "bad trance" hits when you are exhausted. It's the paradox of being too tired and too wired to go to bed. This is a great example of when…
Read More
When I started this chapter titled "Wait Fifteen Minutes," I figured it was about the "Power of the Pause." It was sort of about that idea, but Rubin's perspective was more about the value of distractions. Now, as an ADHD Coach, helping people manage their distractions is my focus rather than helping them seek ways…
Read More
Here are the last five loopholes that Rubin proposes. Remember loopholes are excuses we make for avoiding habits that will help us become better than before.
"This Doesn't Count" Loophole - "We tell ourselves that for some reason, THIS circumstance doesn't count." Examples often used include: vacations, holidays, weekends, illness, it's a one-time…
Read More
Though Rubin's title for this chapter is actually "Nothing Stays in Vegas," I much prefer her tagline to the title, "Loophole Spotting."
She says "Loopholes often flit through out minds, almost below the level of consciousness. If we recognize them, we can judge them and stop kidding ourselves. It's when we deceive ourselves that our…
Read More
Occasionally we need to allow ourselves to break a good habit without losing the good habit completely. Rubin has named this safeguard the planned exception. One advantage of this terminology is that it makes the distinction between an impulsive decision and a planned decision. As an adult we can mindfully make an exception to a usual…
Read More