Smokers have a cigarette cue and a rush reward – replacements for the routine can include nicotine gum, caffeine, or other things.

Keep the same cues and rewards, but replace the routine.

Claude Hopkins created a new habit with Pepsodent – but old habits can’t be destroyed.

Shampoo doesn’t have to foam and toothpaste doesn’t need to feel tingly to work – but those components fill the craving fr validation of effectiveness.

Exercisers crave the “good feeling” after a workout, or a specific reward, or are envisioning a result.

Craving is why we find it so hard to ignore notifications – a craving for distraction.

The anticipation of the reward caused the activity spike.

Eventually, as the habit loop solidified, the brain activity spiked right after the shape showed up.

Brain activity at first – level, but a spike when the reward showed up.

Got blackberry juice from pulling a lever when a shape showed up on a screen.

Now it’s the fresh, clean smell that accompanies the end of a cleaning session.

Febreze was originally odorless and marketed as a way to get rid of bad smells.

The success is in the reward of a cleaning job well done.

It’s actually confirmation of the product “working”.

Hopkins thought it was the reward of clean teeth that drove the habit loop.

Habit loops eventually form a craving – the anticipation of the reward.

Turns out Pepsodent’s success was mainly due to the tingly feeling in the mouth due to the ingredients.Hopkins – successful ad man who helped make Pepsodent successful “Chunking” – the brain’s process of converting a sequence of actions into an automatic routine.Brain activity is much lower when executing the routine part of the habit loop.Habits are bound up in the basil ganglia, one of the most ancient and central parts of the brain.Squire’s paper on Eugene’s habits was the spark that really ignited habit research.The store designs and everything else are as standardized as possible in order to keep cues consistent and trigger routines.McDonald’s fries are designed to melt immediately, in order to give the reward right away and tighten the habit loop.It’s work to avoid running those routines if a cue happens. Habits don’t leave us once they’re ingrained, they stay under the surface waiting for cues to trigger them.Habits are also delicate – if the cue isn’t there, they won’t trigger.He could also build new habits over time.Eugene could function almost normally without a memory due to his habits.Habits are super-important – they let our brains save energy and size for other things.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg